Dallas-based Blockbuster is announcing an alliance it hopes will help it catch up to rival Netflix Inc.
Blockbuster is adopting CinemaNow's video delivery system over the Internet.
The alliance will provide the video rental chain with another avenue for reaching consumers who want to rent and buy movies without traveling to a store.
Blockbuster Chairman Jim Keyes said the move gives the company a significant leap forward in its consumer offerings for digital delivery.
By putting Blockbuster's name on CinemaNow's technology platform, Keyes believes consumers will become more interested in the service. And thereby encourage consumer electronics manufacturers to design devices that will make it easier to connect the service to televisions.
CinemaNow has been around for the past decade, but never gained the name recognition of Blockbuster -- still the largest U.S. video chain even though it has been losing money for years.
Netflix Inc. has diversified beyond its DVD-by-mail service by piping more than 12,000 movies and TV shows over high-speed Internet connections.
