When you find back-to-back Hulu and Verizon Hub commercials rolling across your TV screen, (as I recently did in New York), you know for traditional media delivery, the times, they are a-changin’.

Turns out, the TV spot for Hulu and Verizon Hub each mark a first for their respective parent company; pitching products previously not marketed on live television.
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Interesting approach?

A couple of weeks ago, Blockbuster, the country’s largest video rental service announced testing of 50 or so DVD vending kiosks in preparation for a massive 10,000 store roll-out in the next 18 months.

The company certainly lacks neither scale nor resources to put this good plan to work.

But somehow - in the age of ubiquitous, super-”liquid” consumer video - Blockbuster’s push into the stationary DVD vending business seems somewhat “backwards” I thought.

Maybe afraid to miss the boat again - especially Netflix’s DVD mail-order success comes to mind - Blockbuster may have decided it could simply not cede any more business to others.

Among those, there’s Redbox of course, operating at least 8,000 kiosks each filled with 500+ DVDs. Currently one-night rentals run at $1 per DVD. For all titles, reservations can be made online and any of Redbox’s kiosk accepts returns.

Fair enough. Both Netflix and Redbox are certainly siphoning off consumers’ video dollars away from Blockbuster stores. Obviously that must hurt.

But will simply replicating someone else’s stationary vending model be enough for the video store king to (re)claim lost market share?

By now, most consumers certainly have ample alternatives to quench their thirst for full-length commercial video without the need to drive to a local store.

Cable VOD is already available in at least 50 million US homes. Add to that a growing IPTV subscriber base (2 million and counting), plus Apple TV, Hulu.com, and soon-to-launch Amazon Video on Demand. Then there’s Sony’s internet-connected Bravia TV sets of course, pre-loaded with Hollywood hit movies and other popular fair.

The list goes on and on.

But wait. Maybe NCR can add much-needed differentiation to Blockbuster’s DVD vending idea. The former AT&T-owned company partnered with Blockbuster on its planned in-store kiosk deal but has more to offer than that.

Turns out, NCR is behind the predecessor to the 802.x WiFi standard, and knows all about RFID.

To that end, what if a Blockbuster / NCR combination lets you use your cell phones or other portables equipped to scan DVD packaging while browsing through Blockbuster stores? Or, for that matter, any other store carrying DVDs. (Similar to what Amazon.com has done for in-store books).

While you’re already heading for the door, behind that RFID system, a backend transmission network pushes your favorite Blockbuster hit straight to your residential network, and you’re ready for movie night by the time you enter your home.

No DVD kiosk required, no return date to adhere to; oh, and much lower delivery cost boosting margins on incremental sales.

Interesting approach?