Читать книгу Immersive Technologies to Accelerate Innovation - Simon Richir - Страница 15

Blockbuster Video is a famous example of a company that died of old age due to lack of innovation. Founded in 1985 in Dallas, the company operated a chain of VHS movie rental stores. It adapted to the evolution of video media, moving from VHS to DVD and video games. In 2000, Blockbuster had an option to buy the young California company Netflix for $50 million. Blockbuster’s executive at the time refused the deal because Netflix was losing money. In 2014, Blockbuster Video went bankrupt while Netflix raked in more than $5 billion in annual revenue. Netflix made all video rental companies obsolete in a few years. Blockbuster Video, in a dominant position, failed to make the paradigm shift that was needed at the time. The story was not over, as in 2019 and 2020, no less than six competing platforms came to the market with a technological and economic model similar to that of Netflix: Disney, NBC, Apple, HBO and Amazon. There is also room for “followers”; it is never too late to innovate.