Dive Summary:
- Blockbuster has announced it plans to shut down its 300 store locations remaining in the U.S. by January 2014.
- Consequently, the company’s video rental by mail service, Blockbuster by Mail, will no longer deliver to subscribers and will end operations beginning in December, though the company will continue to offer its video steaming service.
- 50 franchised Blockbuster store locations will remain open to customers inside the U.S., though Blockbuster's U.S. distribution centers will close.
Dive Insight:
Blockbuster and other brick-and-mortar video rental shops have been increasingly pushed aside in recent years in favor of digital and on-demand media content available from Netflix and TV cable providers.
The DVR has compounded the problem for video rental shops and Hollywood itself is increasingly becoming an international industry less reliant on domestic audiences for box office revenue – these trends can all be attributed to the rise of digital media and Blockbuster will continue to focus on its online streaming video service.
