Blockbuster news stories on Newser

Blockbuster Launching Netflix Rival

Matt Cantor — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:49:45 CDT

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

Matt Cantor — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 14:38:10 CST

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

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 06:24:16 CDT

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

Evann Gastaldo — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:22:00 CDT

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 to...

3 Things That Killed Blockbuster

Will McCahill — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:17:00 CDT

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, convenience and good...

Man Stabs Himself to Get Out of Blockbuster Shift

Kevin Spak — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:40:37 CST

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 when...

Best Buy Joining Digital Movie Biz

Ambreen Ali — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:57:40 CDT

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

Kevin Spak — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 07:22:20 CDT

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 a move...

Time to Give Netflix Its Dot-Com Due

Ambreen Ali — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:47:02 CST

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 management, and prescient web-to-TV...