Blockbuster is still kicking with its On Demand app finally making the move to iOS after launching in January.
Dish, who bought out Blockbuster in 2011 for $320 million, put the Blockbuster On Demand app on the market for Android, Samsung Smart TVs, and Roku at the beginning of 2013.
But now anyone with an iPhone or iPad can stream the thousands of films Blockbuster has available to its customers.
The app is available for iOS 4.3 and above and is optimized for iPhone 5. It also supports HD streaming.
"Easier than looking for a kiosk to rent DVDs, Blockbuster On Demand allows you to stream and watch movies in HD instantly on your favorite device," Blockbuster said.
The app itself is free, but movies are rented on a per-film basis, rather than a monthly subscription like Netflix.
This comes hot off the news earlier this year that Dish would close 300 stores, leaving 500 standing, 26 of which are near Dish’s headquarters in Colorado.
Reviews of the app in the iTunes store thus far range from raves to pans.
“Cool app. I've always been a fan of blockbuster. Glad to see them working and putting out cool stuff. Renting from here is def[initely] better and more convenient than driving to a Redbox,” UCpat15 wrote in a five star review.
“Blockbuster’s comeback app. I’d recommend,” MarioM318 said in another perfect score review.
But the last review in the iTunes store is on the other side of the spectrum.
In a comment titled “Not Working”, and a rating of one star, WYVB wrote that the app keeps sending them to Blockbuster.com. “Too bad,” they said.
Dish had originally planned to generate a full-scale competitor to Netflix Watch Instantly with Blockbuster. But Dish abandoned their plans citing that it was not economically feasible to move forward with the project.
