Yesterday, my wife and I visited Petco in the Valley, and I noticed something I hadn’t before.
I was surprised to see that Hollywood Video is already closed. Apparently, they filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy as of Feb 2nd, 2010.
Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised, since its main competitor – Blockbuster Video, already closed their store in my neighborhood about a year ago.
Clearly, they are both victims of the digital revolution that is overturning the world economy.
The past 2 weeks, I was preoccupied on consecutive Tuesday evenings. I was not able to watch my all-time favorite show, Lost. (One of these days, I might blog about this brilliantly scripted TV series, that is a great case study for marketing. But that’s another story.)
Let’s get back to the digital upheaval that is currently going on.
Instead of waiting for replays of Lost, or maybe even waiting for the DVD release of this season, I went to Hulu.com.
This website offers web-based commercial-supported streaming video of TV shows and movies from NBC, Fox, ABC and many other networks and studios. Viewing is free.
I brought my laptop and watched it in bed with my wife. After the show, she asked me a question that I couldn’t answer, so we replayed the last 5 minutes to satisfy our curiosity.
If I had an adapter, I could’ve connected my laptop to our HD TV. Or if I have the new iPad from Apple, I could watch it in the car while my wife drives on our way to Seattle. (Actually, it’s probably more the other way around.)
Note: The name Hulu comes from Chinese Mandarin, and has 2 meanings: 1) holder of precious things, and 2) interactive recording. Seems like an appropriate name for what they do, don’t you think?
Now, who would have thought that our lifestyle would change so fast? Wasn’t it only yesterday, that we were swapping our collection of VHS tapes into the DVD format, and before we could blink an eye, Blue-Ray seems to be where action is.
Or is it streaming internet movies?
Hollywood Video and Blockbuster failed to see the writing on the wall. Or most likely they did, but they weren’t creative enough to think of something, or maybe they weren’t nimble enough to ACT on it.
It took someone else to first come up with the concept behind RedBox, the DVD vending machine network, or Netflix, the rent-by-mail service (they’ve just expanded into streaming video). But who knows if these are going to survive, unless they continuously innovate to keep up with consumer taste, demand and technology.
Technology seems to be the stumbling block for most people, isn’t it?
In this day and age, it is very surprising to meet business owners who are in denial. Or maybe that’s too strong of a description. Perhaps technology is just too overwhelming that it renders us paralyzed. It’s certainly easier to do nothing, than to even think about what to do next, isn’t it?
Even as a technology person, I would be the first to admit that I too suffer from paralysis. But I don’t really have a choice, do I? I’ve got to face the music.
Which leads me to the question, what are your plans for your business to survive the digital massacre?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Dennis I watched the exact same thing happen with Kodak in the mid 90’s when their CEO said something along the lines of “Film isn’t going anywhere” In 1995 at the age of 20 while in college for Photography I wrote a paper called the Death of Film. My instructor gave me a C because the premise was “shaky”. He was 50 something and couldn’t see past what he had known his entire life, film.
Kodak continued on the film path pouring millions into new technologies like the drop in Advantix film…meanwhile Sony, Epson and a handful of other companies poured their R&D money into digital, companies who had seen first hand what technology does to your business model if you aren’t keeping an eye on the horizon.
All it takes is the leader of the company not to see the vision and writing on the wall. Just like they taught us linemen in football when you wanted to get past a guy blocking you “where the head goes, the body follows.” Take a guys head and push it to the ground, down he goes. Kodak’s body followed its head into borderline oblivion…I see Blockbuster and the like no different.
What will be very interesting to see is what happens with Redbox…personally I love it, use it all the time. But I look at that business model and cringe. Maybe the expensive machines they have placed around town are a transitional model to build brand name. 5 years from now tangible movie media will have gone the way of the compact disc, where a few people still use it, but the majority go online for MP3s. 10 years from now movie media it will be like film, a novelty item available only one place in town. In Spokane that place is Inland Photo Supply on Monroe in case you are curious and need some film
Ever wondered what happened to your instructor
Fortunately for Kodak, they’re still alive – a good example of better late than never.
Great article, Dennis.
I can remember in high school working at Hastings Books Music and Video 10 or 12 years ago. Even then we still offered VHS rentals. It’s safe to say most people were not kind, and did not rewind.
Although they offer more than just movies and records (books, video games, and recently expanded to budget musical instruments), I would be interested to know what their recent sales look like as far as these tangible items go. I have not purchased a physical record or movie in a number of years, and with companies like Game Fly, Game Stop, eBay, Amazon, and so on, and even local pawn shops, it amazes me that companies like Hastings are still operating. I guess being a giant nationwide company based out of Amarillo Texas doesn’t hurt. But why are they still floating when stores like Hollywood and Blockbuster bombed?
Hi Jason,
I don’t know the exact reasons why Hastings is still floating. One thing I can say is that my wife and I go to Hastings for older movies that cannot be found elsewhere.
Perhaps they might have found a niche to serve the market.