One of the reasons I wrote that most recent column on LaughingPlace.com was to tie together some developments in the business world around Disney, and seemingly peripheral Disney news into the larger context. It was with stories like this in mind.
Movie Gallery has announced the acquisition of MovieBeam. Movie Gallery is the second largest U.S. video rental chain, and MovieBeam, which has been backed by Disney, is a video-on-demand service.
As Allen P. Roberts has noted in the Los Angeles Business Journal,
Movie Gallery, based in Dothan, Ala., operates the Hollywood Video and Game Crazy chains. It said the acquisition is a move to keep up with video-on-demand competitors, including Amazon.com Inc., Netflix Inc. and Apple Inc. Blockbuster Inc., the nation’s largest video-rental chain, has said it may take on a partner later this year for its own system it plans to design.
The video rental business is being forced to adapt to the competition by acquiring home delivery methods.