Even Blockbuster mocks Netflix for account sharing crackdown.
As we know, in recent days the streaming giant has begun to prevent the sharing of subscriptions outside one’s own household, with all the controversies of the case, and the Blockbuster twitter profile has launched a dig at the old rival .
A friendly reminder that when you used to rent videos from us. We didn’t care who you shared it with… As long as you returned it on time. @netflix
— Blockbuster (@blockbuster) May 25, 2023
In his tweet, the former video store giant wrote:
We kindly remind you that when you rent movies from us, we don’t care who you share them with… as long as you bring them back on time.
As we know, the company’s profile was active again last July, and every now and then it continues to pop up with various ironic tweets. Even the official website has recently been reactivated , which had been stopped for about ten years.
The two brands are linked by a stormy past. Netflix started out as a home rental service, but in 2000 business was failing, and founders Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings attempted to sell the company to Blockbuster for $50 million. The video store chain – still a powerhouse at the time – refused. Hastings took it very badly and vowed to destroy it: mission accomplished in 2014, when Blockbuster went out of business. Let’s also not forget that Netflix has produced a series set in the last US Blockbuster salvocancel it after only one season : history repeats itself, in short.
Amazon Prime Video also mocked its rival over the new policy, reminding us of an old tweet in which Netflix advocated password sharing.
https://t.co/dHgkuwiuHB pic.twitter.com/PkFhbOoWNd
— Prime Video UK (@primevideouk) May 25, 2023
The Ultimate Blockbuster
The Blockbuster brand has also been licensed to a few independent stores, the latest of which (at least in North America) is the popular video store in Bend, Oregon. Previously featured in the documentary The Last Blockbuster , this shop recently made headlines thanks to a nice spot shared online on the day of the Super Bowl, and rented for two dollars on VHS.
The promo is very evocative: a cockroach paws in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, where nothing is left apart from the aforementioned videostore. Not surprisingly, the commercial is titled Blockbuster: Until the Bitter End , because the store has no intention of stepping aside. It goes without saying that the video was packaged in a retro style, as if it were a tape from 30 years ago.