Is Blockbuster Going Down?
No matter if you like it or not, Blockbuster, an important icon in the home entertaining business, might not make it alive out of the current economic crisis. Netflix is dominating the movie-renting business as the company has rapidly adapted to our current needs. More movies are coming our ways from Netflix than from Blockbuster. Netflix has introduced video streaming and now you will be able to get some of your favorite business straight from your computer. Blockbuster failed to follow.
In a recent SEC filing the company said that there’s serious risk that it wouldn’t be able to refinance its debt and therefore there’s “substantial doubt” about “its ability to continue”. What about you? Are you still renting movies from Blockbuster?
via reuters
April 9th, 2009 at 12:34 am
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April 9th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I’m not renting from Blockbuster, mostly because there isn’t one near me. But I find the reports of brick-and-mortar demise to be a bit premature. Streaming video isn’t for everyone, especially out in more rural areas and places with metered internet. Renting movies is still your best overall entertainment value, and while Netflix is great there’s still a turnaround time to cope with. You rent three videos one day, put them back in the mail, it’s two days minimum before you get another block of three. And the video stores are starting to pick up on this–Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video are both offering unlimited rental plans for a fixed subscription cost, and you get both movies AND games with that. Blockbuster might go under, but that’s really because it’s currently the dog of the industry. Hollywood Video and Movie Gallery are owned by the same company now, if memory serves, so they’re doing double damage on number two Blockbuster.