Blockbuster, at one time, had the power to obliterate Netflix. According to CNBC, when faced with the threat of what was then a DVD subscription service (before Netflix even dreamed of streaming) in 2004, Blockbuster answered with Blockbuster Online. Subscribers to the service were up to a million by 2005, and while it was still at the heels of Netflix when it came to online subscriptions, it was growing just as rapidly.

Netflix almost fell into obscurity after Blockbuster's next move: Blockbuster Total Access, a service that let you rent DVDs and have them delivered to you just like with Netflix, per NPR. The thing with Total Access was you could also return the rentals to a Blockbuster store and swap them out for other movies instead of waiting for delivery — this was something Netflix couldn't offer.

It was instant gratification meant to lure Netflix customers away. Blockbuster was booming again by 2006. "They didn't make money on Total Access per se," financial analyst Michael Pachter told NPR, "but they clearly stopped losing customers from their brick and mortar business to Netflix."

Now Blockbuster customers with Total Access were not only able to order three DVDs (just like Netflix), and trade them in faster, but immediately go to a store and rent up to three more. According to Better Marketing, Blockbuster even scratched their infamous late fees.

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