You have to hand it to Blockbuster, having to deal with monetary losses, layoffs and watching rival Netflix take all its customers. Then there is Apple, Sony, Google, Microsoft and others all offering online TV for free or at a low cost. Whats the ailing monolith supposed to do?

Well, they seem to be coming back with a vengeance. The company, from evidence at the CES show last month are throwing a myriad of new developments at the consumer. From DVD rental kiosks to internet streaming straight to your TV, mobile device or phone. You can even visit your local store and downloading movies to a memory stick.

“If you think of a movie, we’ll get it for you,” Bruce Anderson, senior vice president and general manager of Blockbuster OnDemand, said at the show.

Even the kind of antiquated concept of renting a DVD gets a makeover. If you cannot find the dvd you want in a Blockbuster store then they will mail it to you – but without any monthly contract setup. Dont want to order a physical product? Well, Blockbuster are expanding its internet video streaming service, allowing viewers to buy or rent movies online. You can order a movie using your phone (yes, Blockbuster do have an iPhone app) then download it. If you dont want to watch your download on your 14 inch laptop screen, no worries. Just view it on another device like a Blu-ray player or an Internet-connected hd television set.

All great ideas, but available elsewhere and is it really just too little and too late? The company reports 2009 financial results later this month and has said it expects a net loss for the year of as much as $193 million. Several top executives were recently despatched. Looking at their bitter rivals must hurt. Netflix have increased their customer base by a million in the fourth quarter and achieved profits of $116 million for 2009.

Netflix are now ‘the’ DVD by mail company and Apple pretty much own the mobile phone tv market with its iPhone and coming iPad device. Game console streaming is dominated by Microsoft, Sony and Netflix. Whilst the video rental kiosks from Redbox are a big hit too.

It seems that its rivals have managed to adapt to changes in the industry faster says Kurt Scherf, principal analyst with market research firm Parks Associates:- “Blockbuster had that opportunity a few years ago to set the standard,” Scherf said. “I’m just amazed that they got passed so quickly by all these other players.”

Can Blockbuster survive by just copying what everyone else has done? They need to start dominating a market or you can only see one outcome. There is of course phone tv market, which apart from Apple and its iPhone still needs filling. Lets hope Blockbuster move a little quicker on this one.

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