Blockbuster

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Blockbuster Ignites Nostalgia in Dig at Netflix's Crackdown

'We didn't care who you shared [our videos] with,' company tweets

(Newser) - Netflix's crackdown on password sharing is underway, leaving some to wax poetic about yesteryear, when the company promoted the practice as "love." Speaking of nostalgia, here comes Blockbuster to remind us all of the simplicity of Friday night movie rentals shared with family and friends. "A...

The Last Store Thanks Customers With Sleepovers

Oregon Blockbuster lists overnight stays with a '90s theme, including VCR

(Newser) - For people who fondly remember movie sleepovers built around a stack of videocassettes—or maybe just had a dream about being locked in a Blockbuster overnight—there's a deal to be had. The world's last Blockbuster video store has a listing on Airbnb for three nights in September,...

This Will Soon Be the Last Blockbuster in the World

And it's in Bend, Ore.

(Newser) - Pretty soon there will be only one spot left to rent a Blockbuster video: Bend, Ore. Bend's Blockbuster location, the subject of a documentary in the works, will be the last one standing when Australia's Blockbuster in the Perth suburb of Morley closes its doors at the end...

There Is Now One Blockbuster Left in America

And it is located in Bend, Ore., after 2 stores closed in Alaska

(Newser) - Despite the valiant efforts of John Oliver, there is now one lone town in America where you can Blockbuster and chill, and it is Bend, Ore. Alaska, long the land where Blockbuster survived due in part to expensive Internet connections, will see its final two stores in Anchorage and Fairbanks...

Alaska: the Land Where Blockbuster Survived

Several outlets are still hanging on

(Newser) - The manager of a successful Blockbuster Video outlet has given an interview to CBS News —and they didn't have to take a time machine back to 1997 to speak to him. Kevin Daymude runs a Blockbuster outlet in Anchorage, which is one of several locations in Alaska that...

8 Iconic Stores That Have Disappeared

From Filene's Basement to Tower Records

(Newser) - This week, Radioshack announced the closing of some 1,100 stores, prompting speculation as to whether it will go the way of Blockbuster. That reminds a nostalgic Caitlin Dewey at the Washington Post of the key stores of yesteryear that just aren't there anymore:
  1. After more than 100 years,
...

The Last Ever Blockbuster Rental Was...
 The Last Ever 
 Blockbuster 
 Rental Was... 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Nov 17, 2013 9:43 AM CST

The Last Ever Blockbuster Rental Was...

'This Is the End'—seriously

(Newser) - Blockbuster ended in-store rentals for good last Saturday night. So what was the final movie rental ever? Incredibly appropriately, it was Seth Rogen comedy This Is the End, checked out at 11pm in Hawaii, according to a tweet by the company. The question now, notes the Verge , is just how...

Last Blockbuster Store to Close in Months

Parent Dish Network shutting last 300 in US

(Newser) - About a decade ago, Blockbuster had 9,000 stores at a time when video streaming was more concept than reality. By early January, the last 300 remaining Blockbuster stores in the US will close for good, reports Mashable . Parent Dish Network will keep the Blockbuster name alive in its own...

38% of Remaining Blockbusters to Close

With 3K employees getting the ax

(Newser) - The latest news for Blockbuster is more of the same : Bad. Some 300 of the remaining 800 Blockbusters operating in the US are to be closed, Dish Network announced yesterday. That company acquired the floundering video-rental chain in 2011, and shuttered 500 stores last year. The latest round of closures...

Blockbuster Launching Netflix Rival

But consumers shouldn't expect an end to streaming headaches

(Newser) - A new contender is emerging in the streaming-content wars: Old standby Blockbuster appears set to launch a new streaming video service tomorrow. Right now, the Dish Network-owned company offers pay-per-view on-demand service, but it could make a big splash with its own unlimited-streaming plan, CNNMoney notes. So what does all...

Movie Rental Kiosks Beat Out Stores Last Year

But subscription services still reign

(Newser) - Movie rental kiosks' market share surpassed that of retail stores in 2010, a study finds: Kiosks such as Redbox hosted 31% of third-quarter rentals, while 27% were from actual stores. Subscription services had the biggest market share, with 41%. Kiosks' market share grew 10 percentage points year-over-year, while stores dropped...

Blockbuster Files for Bankruptcy

Stores will remain open

(Newser) - Troubled video-rental chain Blockbuster filed for Chapter 11 protection today, saying it plans to keep stores and kiosks open as it reorganizes. In a submission to the US Bankruptcy Court, the company said it reached an agreement with bondholders on a recapitalization plan.

One Man's Plan to Save Blockbuster

It now has movies 28 days earlier—but must change pricing

(Newser) - A Blockbuster shareholder and former DVD kiosk owner—who tried to warn the company of the impending movie rental revolution back in 2005—says Blockbuster can be saved. Yes, it’s $1 billion in debt and looks doomed, but because Netflix and Redbox recently signed a deal delaying their access...

3 Things That Killed Blockbuster
 3 Things That  
 Killed Blockbuster 
ANALYSIS
Mar 17, 2010 7:17 PM CDT

3 Things That Killed Blockbuster

Netflix takes leading role in company's imminent bankruptcy

(Newser) - With Blockbuster, once the dominant US video-rental chain, on the verge of bankruptcy, Daniel Indiviglio takes a look at three crucial factors in the demise of an outfit whose “fate was mostly sealed by its failure to embrace technology quickly enough.”
  • Netflix: “Its business model merged technology,
...

Man Stabs Himself to Get Out of Blockbuster Shift
Man Stabs Himself to Get Out of Blockbuster Shift
EXTREME MEASURES
Nov 4, 2009 1:40 PM CST

Man Stabs Himself to Get Out of Blockbuster Shift

Winds up in jail after manhunt for imaginary assailant

(Newser) - Aaron Siebers was willing to go to some pretty radical lengths to avoid his shift at Blockbuster. On Monday the 29-year-old stabbed himself in the leg before going into work, claiming he’d been attacked by three men. He got out of work, but things swiftly got out of hand...

Best Buy Joining Digital Movie Biz

Service may come built-in to electronics

(Newser) - Best Buy plans to join the digital movie market this summer to offset declining DVD sales, Variety reports. The retailer is in talks with film providers such as CinemaNow—also Blockbuster's supplier—and may market TVs or Blu-ray players with built-in access to the movie library. That would put Best...

Blockbuster to Rent Movies on TiVo

(Newser) - Blockbuster kicked off its latest reinvention effort today, announcing a new plan to beam on-demand movies through TiVo DVRs. One senior VP called the deal “step one in getting to the places that consumers care about.” Blockbuster will also sell TiVo DVRs in its stores, as part of...

Time to Give Netflix Its Dot-Com Due
 Time to Give Netflix 
 Its Dot-Com Due 
OPINION
Jan 28, 2009 4:47 PM CST

Time to Give Netflix Its Dot-Com Due

Disciplined growth has helped it through many setbacks

(Newser) - Despite plenty of naysayers, Netflix boasts success like few other dot-coms, Chris O’Brien writes in the San Jose Mercury News. The movie-rental service reported record earnings despite the recession, “a neat trick that eBay and Yahoo could only dream of emulating.” Netflix’s innovative distribution system, inventory...

Blockbuster Makes $1.35B Bid for Circuit City

Movie-rental chain takes its $6-$8 per share bid public

(Newser) - Movie-rental chain Blockbuster went public today with an offer to buy struggling consumer electronics retailer Circuit City for between $6 and $8 a share, reports the Wall Street Journal. Blockbuster made the offer—worth up to $1.35 billion—in February, but said Circuit City hasn’t opened its books....

Jackass 2.5 to Have Web-Only Debut
Jackass 2.5 to Have Web-Only Debut
Dec 13, 2007 1:34 AM CST

Jackass 2.5 to Have Web-Only Debut

'First Internet movie', studio heads say

(Newser) - Paramount is moving into uncharted territory by premiering Jackass 2.5 online, the New York Times reports. The December 19 premier on Blockbuster's Movielink service will be the first time a studio-backed feature film has made its debut on the Web. Executives hope that a successful experiment will pave the...

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