The popularity of online streaming video services like Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Video means the method at which customers want to view their videos has taken a turn in the last few years. Instead of making our way to a brick and mortar store like Blockbuster during the Armageddon so we could watch The Mighty Ducks 2 for the 50th time, we can now do so from the comfort of our home and for a one-time monthly fee.
Seeing how easy it is to watch movies from your home, Blockbuster has been suffering for a couple of years now and today’s news shows things aren’t getting any better. Dish Network, who purchased Blockbuster for $228 almost two years ago, has announced it will be closing approximately 300 Blockbuster stores, leaving 500 U.S. locations fighting to survive. The 300 stores that are planned to be closed will lose 3,000 Blockbuster employees in the process as a result.
Dish spokesperson John Hall shared some insight as to why these stores were closing. “We continue to see value in the Blockbuster brand and we will continue to analyze store level profitability and — as we have in the past — close unprofitable stores. Some of the approximately 300 stores are reaching the end of their lease and others are closing based on overall performance.”
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