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From Wondery, this is Business Wars. I'm your host David Brown.

Behind every successful business, there's always a hard-fought war that the public rarely gets to see up close.

In Business Wars, we're going to be delving into the most iconic and fascinating battles among rivals, like McDonald's versus Burger King, Nike versus Adidas, or Coke versus Pepsi.

Others may be less well-known, but they'll be just as dramatic.

You'll get a close, inside look into the dynamic, sometimes commanding and cunning entrepreneurs who drive these companies.

We'll learn about the strategies these business titans used to trump their rivals.

Today, we take you to the front lines with an eight-episode series on the battle between Netflix and Blockbuster, and eventually HBO.

It was a war. It lasted eight grueling years. It left behind casualties, thousands of hollowed-out buildings, and economic losses in the billions.

Maybe you or your parents remember those times back in the 90s when you'd get that itch for a movie, and hop into your car, turn on the radio, head out for Blockbuster.

You remember you'd pick out your VHS or DVD and stand in line trying to ignore all the popcorn and candy at every turn?

If you were lucky, they actually had the movie you came for, but often you left with a second or third choice.

And a lot of times, the rental fees turned out to be just a down payment, because all too often, they were hefty late fees too.

Around 1997, along came a guy named Mark Randolph. He was a Silicon Valley marketing wizard with a mind like a wearing blender.

And he had a mathematician friend named Reed Hastings, real-forward-thinking guy, computer programmer.

Well Randolph and Hastings came up with a whole new model for distributing movies to consumers.

When Reed and Mark came up with Netflix, they knew they'd have to take on the mother of all movie rental chains, Blockbuster.

What they didn't know, what they didn't even see coming, was that eventually their business model would up in network television too, and change the entire movie industry.

Bottom line. If you like lots of movie choices at the touch of your remote or your smartphone screen, truth is you can thank Hastings and Randolph.

Writer Gina Keating takes us to the moment when the possibility of all this crystallized.

The Bahamas

Ah, the Bahamas. What if you could hang out with celebrities living a penthouse above the crystal clear ocean with all your best friends and have it be 100% paid for?

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