Blockbuster acquires movie download service Movielink

13 August 2007

Mumbai: US movie rental chain Blockbuster Inc has bought film download service Movielink for an undisclosed sum, to extend its sway in the business of film distribution.

The acquisition marks Blockbuster's latest effort to expand beyond the store-based movie-rental market.

Blockbuster has been in talks to buy Santa Monica, California-based Movielink since March, and the cash-and-stock deal was then expected to cost under $50 million.

The market for legal movie downloads is small, but Hollywood and the movie rental industry are backing the sector in a bid to avoid wide-scale unauthorized downloading of copyrighted content.

Blockbuster, sources said, pans to operate Movielink independently and eventually make elements of the service, with more than 3,300 titles available to download through blockbuster.com. Blockbuster also has a stake in CinemaNow.