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By Julia Kukiewicz
Editor
9 September 2009
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Cinema-goers love an underdog but it seems that DVD-renters prefer a big dog as yet more small online DVD rental companies bite the dust.
PostaDVD and the Christian-focused Visioneers DVD club are amongst the small companies which have recently shut down.
Other DVD rental companies such as Cine Bazaar have previously mysteriously disappeared and show little sign of returning.
Meanwhile, other small companies such as DVD Choice and Cinema Paradiso are struggling to compete.
Philip Martin, owner of DVD Choice, told us: "We are still servicing existing customers, but not promoting new memberships, as we find it uneconomic to try to compete with the larger companies."
Market Pressures
It's no secret that the online DVD rental market is dominated by market leader Lovefilm and high street favourite Blockbuster.
What's more, when you take into account the many (apparently smaller) online DVD rental companies that are powered by Lovefilm, the market shrinks even further.
The Guardian's Sofa Cinema and the UK's cheapest online DVD rental service Tesco fall into this category, for example.
Even with the recession-driven rise in online DVD rental - a stay-at-home money-saver in comparison with visiting the cinema or using traditional DVD rental shops - the rental little guys are still struggling against the pressures of a market dominated by the big two.
The big online DVD rental companies have become so slick and their advertising budgets so huge that smaller businesses must feel like they're fighting a losing battle.
Time will tell whether their concerns are justified.
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