Blockbuster to Close Remaining U.S. Stores by Early 2014

Posted by on November 6th, 2013   Filed under: Industry News
Source: Yahoo!

Blockbuster Video

It’s a familiar refrain that we’ve been hearing for many years now, but this time it looks as though the fat lady really has belted out her final tune. As Netflix, Redbox, iTunes and other digital distribution services have continued to take over the home movie landscape, video rental stores have been steadily dying out. Back in September 2010, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy and then in August of 2011, all of the franchise’s Canadian stores were shuttered as they went into receivership. Since then, they have apparently continued to operate a small number of retail stores in the U.S. while concentrating on their DVD-by-mail business and trying to grow their own on demand service. This week, however, DISH Network Corporation announced that Blockbuster will cease its retail operations by early next year. Here is an excerpt from the official press release:


“DISH Network Corporation today announced that its subsidiary, Blockbuster L.L.C., will end its retail and by mail DVD distribution operations by early-January 2014. The company will close its approximately 300 remaining U.S.-based retail stores, as well as its distribution centers.

‘This is not an easy decision, yet consumer demand is clearly moving to digital distribution of video entertainment,’ said Joseph P. Clayton, DISH president and chief executive officer. ‘Despite our closing of the physical distribution elements of the business, we continue to see value in the Blockbuster brand, and we expect to leverage that brand as we continue to expand our digital offerings.’

The Blockbuster By Mail service will end mid-December and will serve existing customers until that time.”

Back in 2004, Blockbuster once had over 9000 stores around the world but that number had been steadily dropping in recent years. Blockbuster On Demand will remain as will the Blockbuster @Home service, although it’s hard to see any of these things competing with Netflix and the new wave of streaming giants. I would say that it is a sad day, but the truth is I think we all knew that the video rental business had been dead for a while now. Still, if you’re a movie fan of a certain age, you probably have fond memories of heading out to your local rental place to forage for the night’s entertainment. Are you sad to see Blockbuster go or is it about damn time?



  • PlanBFromOuterSpace

    It’s about time. I mean, they waited too long to take that next step, and it bit them in the ass. You can’t really feel all that sorry for them, as it would be like feeling sorry for the guy that used to repair VCRs or regular TVs that, rather than adapt to the new technology or just find something else when the writing was on the wall, stayed the course and just bemoaned the current state of the business.

  • Lior

    Obviously, the video store business isn’t what it used to be, but I don’t think Blockbuster’s demise should be extended to video rental in general . As I’ve said before, independent video stores cater nowdays mostly to movie buffs, nostalgics, and maybe people who prefer to stick to physical media because it’s easier than figuring out how this “streaming thing” works. But when Netflix captured the mainstream consumer market for film & TV – people who just wanna watch the film and couldn’t care less about collector’s editions or commentary tracks – Blockbuster didn’t stand a chance.

  • Mrespony

    Blockbuster was doomed even before streaming. Netflix’s rent-by-mail, no late-fee business model mortally wounded them, streaming was the coup de grace bullet to the head.

  • Steve Kroodsma

    While I’m not really heartbroken about the death of Blockbuster, I do have a lot of fond memories there. My introduction to horror as a child was willing myself to look at the VHS covers in the horror section: Child’s Play, Friday the 13th, Hellraiser, etc. The boxes alone gave me nightmares.

    The benefit, obviously, is the going-out-of business sales. My blu-ray collection began when our local Blockbuster went under, and since then I’ve picked up a number of used copies from them for piece-meal.

    That said, there are three video rental places on my street that seem to be doing fine. One has a cafe/lounge area for studying/watching movies, which is a cool idea. And obviously, the all have massive porn sections.