http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/11/06/blockbuster-video-to-close-all-remaining-stores Another once-dominant chain will soon be no more, as Dish Network have announced that they will be closing all remaining Blockbuster Video stores in the US by early next year. In addition, the Blockbuster By Mail service will end in December. Despite thousands of locations closing in recent years, Blockbuster still had about 300 locations operating until this announcement. Said Joseph P. Clayton, Dish president and chief executive officer, "This is not an easy decision, yet consumer demand is clearly moving to digital distribution of video entertainment. 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." In the 1990s, every high school student either worked here or had a friend who did. In the 1990s, every high school student either worked here or had a friend who did. Dish acquired Blockbuster in 2011, but the writing had been on the wall for a long time about the chain's future, with hundreds of stores being closed at a time in several waves. Blockbuster rose to dominance in the late 1980s and through the 1990s, becoming a hugely successful chain that was synonymous with movie rentals - first with VHS and then DVD, while also including game rentals at many locations. But with the rise of Netflix (even in its early, mail order incarnation), followed by digital distribution, the company began to falter. By 2010, Blockbuster was bankrupt, leading to their purchase by Dish. At the time of their bankruptcy, there were still 3330 Blockbuster locations, but that began to diminish quickly. It's possible that you may still see a Blockbuster Video once in awhile even after Dish closes all of the locations that they own. Variety notes, "In an unusual move, stores that operate as licensed franchises will be able to remain open and operate under the Blockbuster name." While the UK Blockbuster Video chain have not announced they are closing, like the US has, they are having huge issues of their own - including an ongoing back and forth on whether they'll be able to honor pre-orders on next-gen game systems.
The Hollywood video store on West Burnside was just torn down this week. The building had been empty for a few years. barfo
Luckily Obama is forcing Fred Meyer to use the video store location as part of their expansion and updating of their adjacent store, so all is good. Thanks Obama! barfo
I don't really subscribe to many default subs, so this is the only way I get my reddit front page meme fix.
