Blockbuster.com to Launch Online Game Rental Pilot in Cleveland; Plans Continue for Nationwide Launch Before Year End

By: Blockbuster Video | 3 Shares 93 Reads

Dallas, // PRNewswire-FirstCall // -- Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) (NYSE: BBI.B), a global leader in entertainment, today announced that in keeping with its previously disclosed plans to pilot an online video game rental offering by summer, the Company would be launching the program in the Cleveland area June 30. Blockbuster plans to expand the program nationwide before the end of the year, making it the only by-mail service to offer both movie and game rentals.

"BLOCKBUSTER® stores already rent more video games than anyone else - in-store or online - so giving our consumers the ability to rent games from our online service is a natural progression for our business," said Bob Barr, Vice President and General Manager of Blockbuster.com. "This pilot allows us to test a variety of implementation details and gather invaluable key learnings and consumer insights before finalizing and launching a national online game rental offering."

The Cleveland pilot test will be open to all BLOCKBUSTER Total Access™ and BLOCKBUSTER® By Mail subscribers. Subscribers in the pilot test will be able to opt-in to add the hottest Wii, PS2, PS3 and Xbox 360 games to their current online rental queue for an incremental monthly fee, which will only be charged for billing cycles in which they have actually rented games. For the set fee, subscribers can rent as many games as they want during the month, one game out at a time. The game rentals will count toward the total number of rentals a subscriber is allowed under their current online subscription plan. Additionally, Total Access subscribers will get the same in-store exchange benefits with their by-mail game rentals as they do with movies under their current plan.

Blockbuster.com offers two primary types of online movie subscription plans. BLOCKBUSTER® By Mail plans offer online-only service, with online rentals delivered and returned by mail. These plans are perfect for consumers who want the simplicity of online rentals, as well as those without a BLOCKBUSTER® store in their local area. BLOCKBUSTER Total Access™ plans deliver online rentals by mail plus the option of exchanging online rentals for free in-store movie rentals or discounted game rentals up to monthly plan limits at participating BLOCKBUSTER® stores.

About Blockbuster

Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) (NYSE: BBI.B) is a leading global provider of in-home movie and game entertainment, with more than 7,200 stores throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia.

This release should be viewed in the context of Blockbuster's most recent Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-Ks filed or furnished with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and Blockbuster's most recent quarterly earnings release and other press releases, all of which can be found on the Investor Relations section.

This release may include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements that do not relate strictly to historical or current facts are forward-looking, including those regarding our operations, strategies, initiatives and investments, objectives, plans, goals and business and financial outlook.

These forward-looking statements are based on management's current intent, belief, expectations, estimates and projections regarding our company and our industry. They are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that are difficult to predict. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including: (1) overall industry performance and the accuracy of our estimates and judgments regarding trends impacting the home video and game rental industry, (2) consumer appeal of our online subscription offering, combined in-store and online consumer offering, including BLOCKBUSTER Total Access™ and BLOCKBUSTER® By Mail, and other existing and planned product and service offerings, (3) our ability to respond to changing consumer preferences and to effectively adjust our offerings as necessary, (4) the impact of in-store and online competitor pricing and product and service offerings, (5) variability in consumer appeal of movie titles and games software released for rental and sale, and (6) other factors described in our filings with the SEC, including those discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in our Form 10-K for the year ended January 4, 2009 and under "Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Information" in our report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 5, 2009.

The forward-looking statements in this presentation are made only as of the date of this release and we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason, even if new information becomes available or other events occur in the future.

SOURCE: Blockbuster Inc.

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