Whether students rent movies from
Netflix.com or On Demand, movie rental stores in Athens are facing more competition from alternative options.
In the past year, three movie rental stores closed in the Athens area, including Magic Video, formerly located on East State Street; Hot Ticket Video, which was located on Morris Avenue; and Route 50 Flicks.
The two remaining stores, Premiere Video and Hollywood Video, both located on East State Street, have reported steady business.
Rentals at Hollywood Video increased by 16 percent in 2008, after an 8 percent rise the year before, said manager David Pessel. Video game rentals contribute significantly to revenue and the MVP service that charges a monthly fee for two or three DVD rentals at a time without due dates or late fees, Pessel said.
It's our way of having Netflix except you don't have to wait on the mail
he said.
With about 7.5 million subscribers, Netflix has about 90,000 DVD titles in its collection, according to its 2007 annual report.
Jason Werner, district manager for Premiere Video in Athens, also reported a rise in business from last year. Store location, due dates and the variety and number of DVDs available all contribute to the success of a movie rental store, said Werner, who has worked at Premiere Video for seven years.
Business was going down a couple of years ago but now it's doing really well again Werner said. I don't really know that Netflix and whatnot has affected Athens as much as some other areas.
Werner said some of the store's regular customers might use Netflix occasionally in addition to renting from Premiere.
(Customers) want the instant gratification so if they want to see something spur of the moment they come to the video store
Werner said.
Peter Scully, an Ohio University sophomore studying political science, said he usually rents movies from Alden Library when he is in Athens, but uses Netflix at home. Cheaper prices without late fees make the one to two day wait worth it, Scully said.
The convenience is worth something monetarily
he said. When you go to the movie store
it's kind of hit-or-miss if they have what you're looking for.
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Meghan McNamara
