Blockbuster Closing Surprises Nobody (Many Thought They Were Closed Already)

I know what you’re thinking:  I’ve had this rented movie laying around for years and I can’t bear the late fee.  Luckily, news has officially come that Blockbuster Video is closing.  According to Reuters, Dish Network, which owns the once proud franchise, announced that it will shutter the last 300 or so retail stores.

According to CNN, in 1997 Blockbuster may have put a final nail in their own coffin by charging a $40 late fee on “Apollo 13” to Reed Hastings.  Two years later that guy would found Netflix.  While not just Netflix did Blockbuster in, the company proved not nimble enough to changing technology and the digital world.

All those Redbox kiosks had DVDs that cost a fraction of Blockbusters rental charge as well, and factoring in the customer erosion from Netflix, Hulu, iTunes, and whatever illegal activities users turn to, Blockbuster closing was more a matter of when.  In fact, lots of people reading this will probably think that the video rental chain closed years ago.

Movie rental locations for VHS titles were new when VCRs popped onto the scene, but when prices started falling and bargain bins started getting stocked, home libraries really started to take off.  When DVD and Blu-ray prices started to become more favorable (who would rent a movie for $5 when you could buy it for a few bucks more?), the very business model of video renting was done in quickly.

Blockbuster closing is not a shock or a surprise, and the company will live on in many business classes about a company that fails to adapt to a changing market.  This is something that network TV will have to address in the coming years as well, but as for right now all those late fees and rewind fees are pretty much null and void.

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Posted by: Tukiyooo Blockbuster Closing Surprises Nobody (Many Thought They Were Closed Already) Updated at : 3:41 AM

Thursday, November 7, 2013