Type Public Founder Rob Berman Website [1] Founded 2004 | Industry Electronic commerce Owner SKY Network Television Headquarters Auckland, New Zealand Parent organization Sky Television | |
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Products Online DVD and video game rental Profiles | ||
Fatso is a New Zealand online DVD and video game rental service, which mails DVD's, Blu-ray discs and video games to viewers around New Zealand. Fatso was founded in 2004 and is based in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city. As of 2011, Fatso was offering a range of over 27,000 titles to around 20,000 subscribers, and had a full-time staff of 25. This means it is the largest such rental service in New Zealand. It is operated by SKY TV, which owns 51% of the enterprise.
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History
Fatso was founded in 2004 by Rob Berman of Westside Media.
In 2008 it merged with competitors DVD Unlimited and Movieshack to form Screen Enterprises Limited, which operates a single service under the Fatso name. SKY TV (which operated DVD Unlimited) owns 51%, with Berman as general manager. The merger was reported as being due to the home delivered DVD market not being "big enough for the three of them."
In 2012 Fatso began offering video game rental, with as service known as "Games Club". It is operated in a different way to the DVD and Blu-ray rentals, with a daily charge per game.
In August 2013 Berman left Fatso, moving to Shop HQ, an e-commerce venture backed by The Warehouse. Berman retained his stake in Fatso.
DVD and Blu-ray Rental
Fatso was founded as a DVD rental service, and then also began to offer Blu-ray rentals. According to the Fatso website, plans range from $9.95 a month for 2 DVD's (one at a time), to $37.99 a month for unlimited DVD's (three at a time). The service is the largest of its kind in the country, holding around 5% of the total DVD rental market in New Zealand. The service has no late fees or set return times.
Games Club
Games Club is Fatso's video game rental service, started in 2012. Unlike the DVD/Blu-ray service, there is a daily, as opposed to monthly, charge for each game. Games are available for PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PS2, Xbox and Wii platforms, and prices range from 49c to $3.00.
Fatso uses New Zealand Post to send rentals to customers, and return postage is covered by the subscription costs.