Blockbuster to Become a Netflix Headache Thanks to DAO

Blockbuster Video and its Great Demise

Back in the 1990s, Blockbuster LLC, better known as Blockbuster Video or just Blockbuster, was a global brand name. Reportedly, Blockbuster had 9,094 stores and employed more than 84,000 across the U.S and countries worldwide. The peak came in 2004 before online video streaming services hit the home entertainment market.

To compete, Blockbuster had offered DVD-by-mail, streaming, video-on-demand, and cinema theatre in addition to its video stores.

Adding to Blockbuster’s demise was the 2008 global financial crisis and other video-on-demand and streaming services.

In 2010, the franchise filed for bankruptcy protection and was subsequently purchased by Dish Network. Just 1,700 stores remained at the time of the acquisition.

At the time of writing, however, the only remaining franchised store (!) can be located in Bend, Oregon, U.S.A.

DAO Looks to Dethrone Netflix

This week, news hit Twitter of plans to raise $5m to give Blockbuster a new lease of life.

Our mission is to liberate Blockbuster and form a DAO to collectively govern the brand as we turn Blockbuster into the first-ever DeFilm streaming platform and a mainstay of both the Web3 brands and products, but a powerhouse in the future of the film industry. Read the 🧵👇

— BlockbusterDAO (📼,📼) (@BlockbusterDAO) December 26, 2021

Successful fundraising of $5 million would allow BlockbusterDAO to buy Blockbuster Video from its current owners Dish Network. The mission, should investors wish to accept, is to turn it into “the first-ever DeFilm (decentralized) streaming platform and a mainstay of both the Web3 brands and products.” BlockbusterDAO also has aspirations of driving the platform to become “the powerhouse in the future of the film industry.”

BlockbusterDAO plans to raise the $5m or more by way of BlockbusterDAO NFT mints priced at 0.13E each. The team also plans to raise awareness and use a PR campaign to build pressure on Dish Network to sell Blockbuster and then register all intellectual property in the name of the DAO.

Audiences to Decide the Outcome of Moves and Series

BlockbusterDAO’s vision is an incredible and enticing one. Imagine networks having a say on the final version of a script. Voters could also influence casting and more. Making all the decisions on blockchain also brings transparency and quite possibly a film industry revolution that would prize the power from the likes of Metro-Golden-Meyer and other Hollywood elites.

Netflix Alert

While it is certainly too early to write off the likes of Netflix, many had a similar view of Blockbuster before its demise. As we all learned in the global financial crisis, nothing is too big to fail. And so, it could be quite feasible that BlockbusterDAO not only brings Blockbuster Video back to life but also revolutionizes the film industry. It is a mouth-watering prospect and Netflix execs may be kicking themselves for not coming up with the idea first…

As at Wednesday, 29^th December’s close, Netflix Inc’s (NFLX) share price stood at $609.59. For the current month of December, Netflix Inc. is down 5.45% versus a 1.47% gain for the NASDAQ. Year-to-date, Netflix Inc. is up 12.7% versus a 22.3% gain for the NASDAQ.