Online DVD rental service is a concept which I found pretty innovative and useful in USA. The best part is nobody told me about this concept and I found about it myself :D!!
It so happened that one fine day in April I wanted to watch a movie but did not want to go to nearby DVD store to pick up a DVD (or should I say I could not go there as I did not have a car back then). Then suddenly this idea hit me that there can be a service where one can select and rent movies online – and next moment I knew somebody already must have created a business model around this concept. I googled on online dvd rental and I found “netflix”.
I subscribed to netflix and watched loads of movies and all the seasons of my fav sitcom friend.
Now, cut to October – one fine day I was discussing with one of my colleagues that how this business model can be replicated in India and my friend disagreed with me that it is not possible to send DVDs via normal post as in USA – people (even postman) will torn out DVDs out of envelopes, DVDs will be lost etc etc – I was convinced.
But to my amazement today while I was reading an article on Business World – I found that somebody at India has already started playing with this concept. Since as I pointed out that DVDs cannot be delivered by normal post in INdia – they have modified the model a bit so as to tie up with Courier companies to deliver and pick up DVDs!!!
I found three sites catering to this service – clixflix, catchflix and seventymm. The similarity about them cost per DVD comes around Rs. 60 to 100 depending upon which plan you choose.
They all follow the same model as outlined in three steps:-
* User selects the movie online.
* A courier company delivers movie to user.
* A courier company picks up movie from user
ClixFlix
I researched a lot about this, but found out later that THEY ARE AVAILABLE ONLY IN MUMBAI. They bost of having 7 Walkin Stores, 15,000 Members and 10000+ Movies
http://www.clixflix.com/ext/Plans/
My fav plan – Since I am based in Delhi at the moment so ClixFlix is useless for me. But anyways, my fav plan can be 25 DVDs (Rs. 1749) for unlimited days.
CatchFlix
They are serving in “Bangalore | Chennai | Delhi-NCR | Hyderabad | Kolkata | Mumbai”
http://www.catchflix.com/pricing.php
Only One 1 DVD Rs. 99 Rs. 99
Double Impact 2 DVDs Rs. 149 Rs. 75
Triple Treat 3 DVDs Rs. 189 Rs. 63
20 DVD Pack 20 DVDs Rs. 1219 Rs. 61
50 DVD Pack 50 DVDs Rs. 2899 Rs. 58
# When you buy a Movie Pack, you can rent DVDs over a period of one year by selecting two or more DVDs at a time.
# You can pay by check to buy a Movie Pack. Just send us a check for the Pack’s price. Make the check for Catchflix Services Private Limited. Write your name, email, and phone number on the backside of the check. Mail it to our address on the Contact Us page.
SeventyMM
They are serving in “Bangalore | Delhi-NCR | Chandigarh | Chennai | Hyderabad | Mumbai”
http://www.seventymm.com/Content/WhatItCost
I think I found SeventyMM best on the lot till now. I also read that it is the only one which is funded by an american VC – so there must be a good thought process and ground work behind – and not some nerds trying to create “next big thing”.
But I guess I will not have any time in India to watch any DVDs – after travelling 2-4 hours a day between home to office and working like a freaking a** in the office!!!!