Blockbuster to close remaining stores and mail service

Henceforth, Blockbuster will be a digital-only service

A couple of weeks ago, I very seriously considered going to my local Blockbuster to rent a movie—which would’ve been the first time I’d entered the store in…I don’t even know. It was one of those situations where the movie I wanted to watch wasn’t available in digital format, so…what now? Redbox? I haven’t even used a Redbox in over a year.

Nope. The answer to this particular problem was to simply give up and plan to never see the movie in question until it became available online. (How lame would that be to go into a Blockbuster and be the only person there? All so that you can rent the first Twilight movie.)

It looks like I’m not the only person who has gone through this thought process because Dish Network announced Wednesday that it will be shutting down the remaining brick-and-mortar Blockbuster stores, as well as Blockbuster’s by-mail DVD service.

The news comes some two years and change after Dish bought the death-spiraling company for $320 million. There are only 300 remaining brick-and-mortar Blockbuster stores left in the U.S. (there’s one right down the street from my house! Every time I drive by it it’s like seeing a rare bird!), and all will be shut down.

When Blockbuster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2010, it had 3,300 U.S. locations. That number shrank to 2,400 by the time Dish bought the company in April 2011. Many more cuts were made as Dish began to transition Blockbuster over to a digital service.

While the brick-and-mortar stores and by-mail service are being shut down, Dish will continue to run Blockbuster @Home for its own customers and Blockbuster On Demand for the general public. Blockbuster @Home comes with over 20,000 movies and TV shows. At last count, Amazon Prime had 40,000 movies and TV shows. Unlike Amazon Prime, Blockbuster @Home also comes with 15 movie channels, including STARZ Cinema, EPIX, Sony Movie Channel, and Hallmark Movie Channel.

“This is not an easy decision, yet consumer demand is clearly moving to digital distribution of video entertainment,” said Dish CEO Joseph P. Clayton, in a statement. “Despite our closing of the physical distribution elements of the business, we continue to see value in the Blockbuster brand, and we expect to leverage that brand as we continue to expand our digital offerings.”

The remaining 300 brick-and-mortar stores and the by-mail DVD service will be phased out by January 2014.