BB Liquidating Inc. (BLIAQ)

[fredman]

Blockbuster is positioning itself to become THE place to get the latest releases. The 28 day window between the movie studios and Blockbuster ensures a virtual monopoly in the marketplace. The movie studios received first lien on Blockbuster Canadian properties. This was done through "Home Trust Companies" http://www.hometrust.ca/

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1085734/000119312510077678/d8k.htm

I believe the Studios are providing the funds to retire bonds and are actively helping to transform Blockbuster. In the ongoing transformation, I expect the alliance between Blockbuster and the movie studios to grow stronger. Blockbuster will more than likely emerge as the place for consumers to watch the newest releases using video-on-demand / streaming technologies for movies before they reach store shelves.

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MPAA declares victory in FCC fight over pre-release screening

A new FCC ruling paves the way for movie studios to offer consumers scores of films before they reach shelves, but only if viewers allow the studios to disable parts of their TVs that could be used for piracy.

The commission's Media Bureau on Friday granted the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) a limited waiver to turn off some TV viewers' selected video outputs -- a process known as "selectable output control" that's typically barred by federal law.

The MPAA had sought the FCC's graces on the matter for years, stressing it would need that waiver before it could offer movies to viewers before the films' DVD release dates. Movie executives feared consumers would simply use those ports, when hooked up to a digital-video recorder, to pirate any pre-released movie streaming across their TVs.

The waiver issued Friday would not allow the MPAA to touch every consumer's television set at whim, nor would it grant movie studios control over an entire TV indefinitely; rather, only those who participate in the video-on-demand program would have to consent to that loss of autonomy, and the waiver would only last 90 days.

But a handful of interest groups, including Public Knowledge, long fought the MPAA on the issue, fearing it would give the studios too much control over consumers' television sets. They also argued it would force most Americans who wanted to participate to purchase new entertainment systems, as a majority of TVs would be adversely affected by studios' flick of the switch.

Intense debate over the waiver request even forced the FCC to punt on the issue, leaving the matter to the Media Bureau under the Obama administration. Their review concluded Friday with a victory for the MPAA, though the FCC ordered all stakeholders to report their findings back to the commission in two years.

While the MPAA received far less than it first requested, the FCC's decision nonetheless enraged Public Knowledge, which lambasted the commission for succumbing "to the special-interest pleadings of the big media companies."

“At no point in this proceeding did any of the content companies make the case that any ‘piracy’ was occurring because material was sneaking out of the back of a TV set onto the Internet," said President Gigi B. Sohn. "At no point did the Bureau acknowledge that the Government Accountability Office had called into question the ‘piracy’ statistics the industry has been touting for years."

“We will be watching for the first time the industry decides to exercise its control over electronics in a consumer’s home," she continued. "At that point, neither the Commission, nor, we suspect, Capitol Hill, will be able to ignore the outrage that will surely come from consumers."

The MPAA, however, rejoiced at the FCC's ruling, which it called a "victory for consumers."

“The first, and best way to view movies will always be in movie theaters – and nothing can replace the pleasure this brings to millions and millions of people all across our country and the globe,” said Bob Pisano, president and interim CEO of the MPAA.

“But for those people unable to make it to the theater and interested in viewing a recently released movie, thanks to the FCC, they will now have a new option," he added.

Source: http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/96741-mpaa-declares-victory-in-fcc-fight-over-pre-release-movie-screening