DISH Network to Serve Streaming in Competition with Netflix

Not just Amazon, DISH is going to start competing with Netflix. DISH also bidding for HULU. Netflix, the stock, is a toast. (Via Bloomberg)

Dish Network Corp. (DISH), the second largest U.S. satellite-TV provider, will introduce a Blockbuster streaming-movie service to compete with Netflix Inc. (NFLX) next month, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plans.

The timing is designed to coincide with price increases being implemented by Netflix, according to the person, who declined to be named because Dish’s new offering isn’t public. Starting this month, Netflix said it will charge separate fees for mail-order and streaming videos, raising the price by 60 percent to $15.98 for customers who want both options. Dish hasn’t set a price for its rival service, the person said.

Dish acquired almost all of Blockbuster’s assets in April for $320 million out of bankruptcy. The company is trying to transform Blockbuster into a business that can compete online with Netflix, Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) and Hulu LLC. U.S. residents watched an average 4 hours 33 minutes of video on the Internet monthly in the first quarter, a 35 percent increase from a year earlier, according to a Nielsen Holdings NV report.
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