Audio Video News

Blockbuster, the name that became synonymous with video rental and represented an empire of 9,000 stores at its peak, announced plans to close its remaining 300 company-owned stores in the U.S. by early January. Franchise stores, pegged at about 50 by the New York Times, will not be affected by the move.

Blockbuster by Mail will also cease to exist next month, while the Blockbuster@Home service available for a fee to Dish satellite-TV customers and Blockbuster On Demand continue as the mainstay of the company that filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and was acquired at auction by Dish Network in 2011 for $320 million—a long way from the $5 billion market value it enjoyed a decade ago.

At the time of the Dish acquisition Blockbuster operated about 1,700 stores and intended to use the brand to bolster Dish's offerings but the plan never got off the ground due to stiff competition from ubiquitous Redbox kiosks and Netflix mail order and streaming services.

Leave a comment: When was the last time you rented a video from a Blockbuster store?