Mart's subscribers would not "materially impact" its own subscriber growth, and it would not revise its forecasts. Netflix has said it expects to reach 4 million subscribers by the end of 2005. The company lost money in the first quarter and has predicted losses for the second quarter and full year, blaming spending to stave off competition from Blockbuster. Blockbuster has reported having more than 750,000 online rental subscribers and expects to grow to 2 million by the end of the first quarter of 2006. Fulcrum's Widlitz said the agreement between Netflix and Wal-Mart probably would not deter online retail giant Amazon, which launched an online DVD rental service in Britain last year, from entering the U.S. market -- and possibly setting up a partnership with Blockbuster. "I don't think the battle is over here," she said. "To team up with Amazon is probably as powerful on the Web as teaming up with Wal-Mart." --More 2257 Local Time 1957 GMT
