Antioco’s command that they develop Blockbuster Online separately from the Blockbuster stores meant that the stores’ customer mailing lists were totally off-limits to the online marketing department, and that any online activities couldn’t steal the spotlight from the stores. Blockbuster Online’s ads could not mention, for instance, that the service did not charge late fees, as Netflix did in its advertising, because the comparison could cast a negative light on Blockbuster stores. Evangelist and Cooper had to establish their own relationships with movie studios and negotiate their own terms
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