Dish Network Launches Streaming Service to Compete with Netflix

Dish Network will launch a Blockbuster streaming-movie service in October, according to Bloomberg.

Dish, the second largest U.S. television satellite provider, acquired Blockbuster in April for $320 million and is finally utilizing its purchase to compete with Netflix in the competitive market, according to a Bloomberg source.

Netflix has long been the market leader in video streaming, but has recently stumbled with its customer base. The company was widely lambasted for raising subscription prices and now sees a wave of new competitors trying to capitalize on its vulnerability. Amazon Prime, Walmart's Vudu, and now Dish's offering are all intent on taking a piece of Netflix's lucrative pie.

In July, Netflix announced that it would no longer offer a streaming movie and DVD plan for $9.99, but instead customers would have to pay $7.99 for each component. To get that same subscription plan -- one DVD and unlimited online streaming -- customers would be paying 60 percent more than they used to.

On the same day that its price hike officially went into effect, Netflix suffered a major blow when Starz, the company's first movie distributor, ended contract negotiations with the company. Starz cited a need to protect its premium brand as a reason to back away, but curiously enough, will be a part of Dish's new streaming service, according to Bloomberg.

The new service set to debut in October, may also include on-demand movies that Dish customers can watch on their televisions.

Bloomberg did not have any details on what pricing could be for the service.