The alliance with CinemaNow, to be announced Wednesday, accelerates Blockbuster's push to catch up with rival Netflix, which has diversified beyond its DVD-by-mail service by piping more than 12,000 movies and TV shows over high-speed Internet connections.
US-based Blockbuster took its first step toward matching Netflix in late November when it introduced a gadget, made by 2Wire, that connects to television sets and temporarily saves video after it's downloaded over high-speed Internet connections. Netflix already had been marketing a similar box made by Roku.
"We put our toe in the water and now this gives us a significant leap forward in our consumer offerings" for digital delivery, Blockbuster Chairman Jim Keyes said in an interview.
