In the grand tradition of undead monsters in cinema, Blockbuster simply will not die. Its decline from prominence at the hands of Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), crash into bankruptcy and eventual sale to Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH) this past spring has been lurching and ceaseless, much like any good zombie transformation.

Now, with the majority of its 5,000 retail locations around the world shuttered for good and the home video market gearing up for an all-out war between Netflix, Hulu and other rising streaming powers, Blockbuster is shambling back once again.

Dish Network is, unsurprisingly, using its new $320 million acquisition to stake its own claim in the streaming video wilds. A report in Bloomberg, citing a source familiar with the company’s plans, claimed that Dish will open its own streaming video service that carries the Blockbuster brand in October. The source went on to claim that the service would be expanded beyond the basic streaming options offered by Netflix and Hulu, including access to on-demand movie rentals for customers that also subscribe to Dish’s satellite television.

How far it reaches beyond that is a mystery, though. Will a Blockbuster streaming subscription under Dish’s management give access to the one-time, on-demand rentals currently available on the web through Blockbuster.com? Will it supplement the Blockbuster On Demand service through DVR set-top boxes that exists now? Or will Dish decide to completely realign what remains of Blockbuster’s business for this new initiative?

There is another factor to consider as Dish gears up to take the streaming video market by storm. Among the many companies rumored to be bidding on Hulu — a list that includes heavyweights like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), not to mention the leviathan that is Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) — Dish has emerged as a frontrunner, rumored to be offering as much as $2 billion for the streaming video service owned by Disney (NYSE:DIS), News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWS) and Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA).

Dish Network reportedly spends around $7 billion annually. A $2 billion purchase of Hulu, coupled with the $320 million purchase of Blockbuster, would leave Dish Network with a massive brand presence in the streaming video market and with a sizable chunk of money remaining to spend on licensing content for said service. The source claiming Dish’s service will open in October also said the company will have a claim on key content that Netflix won’t, namely a license with Liberty Media‘s (NASDAQ:LSTZA) Starz premium movie channel. It’s certainly telling that news of Dish’s streaming service hit the press within 24 hours of Netflix losing its contract with Starz.

When it comes to subscribership and revenue, Dish trails its competitors. It hasn’t enjoyed growth in the same way that Netflix or even competitors in the subscription television service like DirecTV (NASDAQ:DTV) have. This new streaming service might very well be its big chance, though. The Blockbuster brand might have lost its business luster, but it’s still recognizable by consumers. If the power of that brand was coupled with Hulu, Dish finally could be poised to give Netflix a real fight.

As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter at @ajohnagnello and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook.