Netflix's success was followed by t

Netflix's success was followed by the establishment of numerous other DVD rental companies, both in the United States and abroad. Wal-Mart began an online rental service in October 2002, but left the market in May 2005. However, Wal-Mart would later acquire the rental service Vudu in 2010.[188]

In 2005, Netflix cited Amazon.com as a potential competitor,[189] which until 2008, offered online video rentals in the United Kingdom and Germany – this arm of the business was eventually sold to LoveFilm, however Amazon then bought LoveFilm in 2011.[190] In addition, Amazon now streams movies and television shows through Amazon Instant Video.[191]

Blockbuster Video entered the U.S. online market in August 2004, with a US$19.95 monthly subscription service. This sparked a price war; Netflix had raised its popular three-disc plan from US$19.95 to US$21.99 just prior to Blockbuster's launch, but by October, Netflix reduced this fee to US$17.99. Blockbuster responded with rates as low as US$14.99 for a time, but by August 2005, both companies settled at identical rates.[citation needed] On July 22, 2007, Netflix announced that it would drop the prices of its two most popular plans by US$1.00 in an effort to better compete with Blockbuster's online-only offerings.[192] On October 4, 2012, Dish Network announced that it was scrapping plans to make Blockbuster into a Netflix competitor.[193]

Redbox is another competitor that uses a kiosk approach: Rather than mailing DVDs, customers pick up and return DVDs at self-service kiosks located in metropolitan areas. In September 2012, Coinstar, the owners of Redbox, announced plans to partner with Verizon to launch Redbox Instant by Verizon by late 2012.[194] In early 2013, Redbox Instant by Verizon began a limited beta release of its service,[195] which was described by critics as "No netflix killer"[196] due to "glitches [and] lackluster selection."[197]

Netflix and Blockbuster largely avoid offering pornography, but several "adult video" subscription services were inspired by Netflix, such as SugarDVD and WantedList.[1