Business Wars

Introducing: Business Wars

Netflix-HBO. Nike-Adidas. Business is war. Sometimes the prize is your wallet. Sometimes your attention. Sometimes just the fun of beating the other guy. From Wondery, the network behind Dirty John and American History Tellers.

Netflix vs Blockbuster - Sudden Death | 1

This is Episode 1 of an 8-part series on the brutal business battle between Netflix and Blockbuster, and later HBO.It all started around 1997, with a guy named Marc Randolph and his mathematician friend Reed Hastings. Randolph and Hastings knew they’d have to take on Blockbuster, but what they didn’t anticipate was that their business model would take on network television and eventually change the entire movie industry.This was an 8-year total war that left innumerable casualties in its wake: thousands of hollowed out buildings and economic losses in the billions.Support us by supporting our sponsors:ZipRecruiter - Post jobs on ZipRecruiter for FREE by visiting them at ZipRecruiter.com/BWSquarespace - Get 10% off your first website or domain when you enter code BW at checkout. Visit them at Squarespace.com to get going!

Netflix vs Blockbuster - Origins | 2

After Hastings pleaded with Antioco to buy Blockbuster Online, Antioco agreed to present Hasting’s proposal to the board. What he didn’t tell him was that he would present the  proposal to let the board reject the offer to let Netflix wither and die. Meanwhile, Netflix was struggling to gain legitimacy in Hollywood. Netflix quickly realized that before it could take on the Hollywood gods, it would have to slay Blockbuster. Support us by supporting our sponsors:Legal Zoom - For special savings, be sure to enter code BW in the referral box at LegalZoom.comQuip - Get a free refill pack with the purchase of a toothbrush when you visit them GetQuip.com/BW

Netflix vs Blockbuster - Dirty Tricks | 3

Thinking like your enemy is the best way to beat them, and during the war, Blockbuster tried every trick in the books to get inside Netflix. Sometimes they succeeded - sending “housewives” into warehouses as spies, and sometimes things didn’t go as planned. But when Blockbuster did deliver, they delivered big. They threw everything they had at Netflix, but the war raged on.Support us by supporting our sponsors:Keeps - Get your first month of treatment for free and start keeping your hair at Keeps.com/BW

Netflix vs Blockbuster - The Digital Divide | 4

You know that expression “content is king”? Well it turns out, sometimes it’s not. Sometimes it’s a hard-working algorithm that burrows into customer habits and viewing patterns. With that, Netflix had a clear upper hand on Blockbuster.That, and the fact that Netflix targeted this new “streaming” technology that in 2007, no one really believed in. Soon they were on top of the world.But it’s dangerous being on top. If you trip, you have a long way to fall.Support us by supporting our sponsors:Squarespace - Get 10% off your first website or domain when you enter code BW at checkout. Visit them at Squarespace.com to get going!Quip - Get a free refill pack with the purchase of a toothbrush when you visit them GetQuip.com/BW