I forgot to post the other link.... I posted the other link b/c of the blockbuster advert!!! Here's the original story I read....
They didn't get paid off but took a deal:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_gadg/20100323/tc_ytech_gadg/ytech_gadg_tc1309
So, why did Netflix and Redbox agree to a 28-day delay before renting Warner Bros. movies? Because Warner offered both companies better distribution deals (in other words, cheaper prices for its wholesale DVDs and Blu-rays) and, in Netflix's case, more digital titles for its streaming "Watch Instantly" catalog.
All right then ... so why the special treatment for Blockbuster? Good question. In the Home Media Magazine piece, Warner Home Video president Ron Sanders said the Blockbuster deal was the result of a 25-year-old "cooperative and successful relationship" between the pair. Not much of an answer, I know.