Netflix vs Blockbuster - Origins | 2

Business Wars

Wondery

History, Business, David Brown, Management

4.6 • 13.2K Ratings

🗓️ 6 February 2018

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

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 was pushing the board to reject the offer so Netflix would 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.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, prime members, you can listen to business wars, add free on Amazon music.
0:04.8	Download the app today.
0:09.7	John Antiocho, blockbusters chairman and CEO, walked into the Woodpanel conference room in
0:15.2	the General Motors building high above Manhattan, as board members were taking their seats.
0:20.9	It was February of 2007, and Antiocho was feeling pretty good about himself.
0:26.0	The board was about to learn that their nemesis, Netflix, and its CEO read Hastings were on
0:32.2	the ropes.
0:33.9	In a final transparently desperate bid to beat blockbuster, Hastings had offered to buy blockbuster
0:40.2	online's three million subscribers for $200 per.
0:46.0	Even though Antiocho found Hastings condescending attitude toward blockbuster insufferable, he had
0:51.9	agreed to Hastings request to bring the proposal to the board.
0:56.2	What he didn't tell Hastings was that he would recommend the board reject the offer,
1:02.0	and let Netflix, wither, and die.
1:06.7	Billionaire Carl Icon liked to preside over these meetings, even though he was just a board
1:11.5	member and Antiocho was chairman.
1:14.5	Antiocho and Icon regularly locked horns over blockbusters huge debt, and how much Antiocho
1:19.8	spent on blockbusters online service.
1:23.0	With this offer though, Antiocho was expecting praise from Icon.
1:28.1	He sat back and let his lieutenant, Shane Evangelist lay out Hastings' proposal and the
1:33.4	recommendation to reject it, which would bury Netflix.
1:37.9	Blockbuster Online is adding 25,000 subscribers a day thanks to total access.
1:43.9	At this rate, we'll have over 4 million subscribers in six months.
	...

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