Blockbuster Files For Bankruptcy

Dallas-based Blockbuster Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday, calling into question the futures of over 5,600 stores worldwide. The company will be evaluating each location on a case-by-case basis, and seeks to cut costs after reporting a $558 million net loss last year. Newsweek credits the company's slow adoption of new media distribution methods as a big reason for the company's decline. "... while Blockbuster discussed creating its own subscription service to rival Netflix, it wasn't until August 2004 that its online DVD rental program actually started in the US. And when, in 2004, Coinstar entered the market with its Redbox DVD kiosks, Blockbuster didn't begin installing similar devices until 2008." CNET suggests that "Leaders of pay TV services might be wise to start doing the business equivalent of digging foxholes and manning the battlements or the same thing could happen to them."

Comments

So sad, but it's time

[Pojut]

Goodbye, Blockbuster. With news of your bankruptcy (yes, I know they aren't technically closing all their stores...yet), a bit of my childhood is officially gone.

Tell me, fellow slashdotters: was there anything better when you were a kid than going to the video store on a friday night to rent a video game or movie? My brother and I rented COUNTLESS NES and SNES games from our local video store (Olney Video)...soooo many games. Good times, good times.

I recognize how convenient and better services like Netflix and Gamefly are, but there's just something about going into a dusty old video store and browsing the shelves that convenience will never replace.

Re:So sad, but it's time

[voss]

Blockbuster was the biggest meanest dinosaur you ever saw...then the asteroid hit. Suddenly being the biggest and meanest didnt matter anymore. All
the big stores that enabled them to triumph over their rental rivals suddenly became disadvantages over their newer smaller smarter competitors.

Re:I'll miss them

[nizo]

Neither Netflix nor Amazon should even exist, but for the stupidity of Blockbuster and Barnes and Noble. I can see the clueless management of both companies now:

"Oh that intertooob thingy will never catch on!"

Re:I'll miss them

[Albanach]

It's an incredible strategy they're undertaking.

They don't have free streaming, so what separated their plans from Netflix was that you could exchange in store.

Here they closed all three local stores leaving over 100,000 people without a local Blockbuster. Overnight, their rent by post plans were more expensive than Netflix and more restrictive. They also appeared to be slowing down shipping movies, where they'd often be sent out the day after your return was received, rather than the same day.

Then they started rolling out kiosks, like RedBox. But if you have a mail in subscription, you can't use your free rental coupons in their kiosks and you can't do returns or exchanges to their kiosks.

They seem hell bent on destroying themselves, and that doesn't engender much sympathy.

Re:I Won't

[LordKronos]

Getting hit with late return fees just doesn't hold up to on demand streaming of tens of thousands of titles. Guess I'm just not a Luddite.

You say this like the late fee is a required part of the rental experience. I've rented a lot of movies over the last 20 years, and never once have I had a late fee. How hard is it to return something on time? Apparently pretty hard, based one how many people get them, but I just don't understand it.

Re:I Won't

[LordKronos]

there's no connection between "I saw a movie last night" and "I must return the movie"

Wow, you can't even remember for 24 hours (or 2 days, or however long your rental is)? I don't know what to say. Perhaps I'd just suggest that, when you're done watching, instead of throwing the movie on top of your entertainment center or somewhere out of the way, perhaps you can set it with your car keys or something, so that it's very obvious to you. I expect your response will probably be "no thanks, I'd just prefer not to rent movies instead", but if you have that much trouble remembering things, then just take it as general advice.

I'm sure you can be anal about it and never get a late fee, but I'd rather have not go through that effort just to watch a damn movie.

Anal? WTF? You say that like I sit there all day saying "gotta return that movie, gotta return that movie", post notes all over the house reminding me, and have a daily checklist with an item labeled "returned rentals (if applicable)". Is it anal that I remember to put on pants before leaving the house, too?

Re:I'll miss them

[tixxit]

You think that's bad. I live in Canada, a market that is far behind the states in terms of movie rental options. Blockbuster Canada should have seen their U.S. counterparts continual failure as an opportunity to invest in the streaming market in Canada. Instead they focused on their brick-n-mortar stores. Now Netflix has finally moved into Canada. It was good knowing you Blockbuster Canada.