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Name: Blockbuster
Age: 25
Occupation: video rental chain
Last Seen: Dallas, TX
Bee-otched For: going belly-up
Age: 25
Occupation: video rental chain
Last Seen: Dallas, TX
Bee-otched For: going belly-up
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Blockbuster, we hardly knew ye.
As speculated, the video store giant has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, claiming nearly a billion dollars in debt. The chain, which used to be quite profitable, has seen challenging competition from Netflix, Redbox and video on demand.
This hasn't been a great time for the video business; Blockbuster's competitors, Hollywood Video and Movie Gallery also went belly-up and shut down all their stores. With improvements in technology, going out to rent a video seems to be too old-fashioned.
For the time being, Blockbuster will still continue to operate their 6,500 stores worldwide, although the chain will close at least 900 of them by year end. Here in Michigan, Blockbuster pulled out of the Traverse City market several years ago after franchisee David Scheppe - who allowed his Horizon Video to merge into Blockbuster - decided not to renew his contract with the video giant. Since then, Scheppe has become an owner of several successful Grand Traverse Pie Company locations.
Blockbuster started in 1985 by David Cook with a single store in Dallas. However, it was Waste Management founder Wayne Huizenga who bought the company and made it even bigger by expanding the business, eventually selling it to Viacom in the 1990's for over $8 billion. However, Viacom spun off Blockbuster in 2004 and it's been downhill since then. With on-demand entertainment, Netflix and other sources to see Hollywood hits, Blockbuster's days were numbered. Not even a rip-off of Redbox called Blockbuster Express - kiosks in supermarkets and other retail outlets - could save the company from the inevitable.
But, to those who actually still want to drive all the way to the video store to rent a movie, fear not, because Family Video is still in business.
That's right! There's one chain in America that rents movies and they're growing. Family Video, based just outside of Chicago in Glenview has over 700 stores and is opening a new store every week. Dianna Lewis, a district manager of Family Video told the Evansville Courier and Press "It's the blue-collar workers who live paycheck to paycheck." They cannot afford the broadband internet that allows them to download movies or even the credit or debit cards they need to use Redbox. Plus, if Redbox gives them a bad disc, they're screwed, and if the kid's ball game's rained out, Netflix is no help.
Family Video's new releases cost only $2.29 plus 50 cents more for multiple nights. Many other DVDs are only 50 cents to rent and over 300 kids movies are free.
But despite its name, Family Video has what Blockbuster didn't, and maybe it was part of the reason why Blockbuster bombed: porn.
Yep! Family Video DOES have a back room porn section for the two eldest members of the family. After all, when the kids are done watching that annoying Barney video, it's time for mommy and daddy to realize the true reason why they went to the video store. True, X-rated movies only amount to about 2% of Family Video's business, I'd rather go there than Blockbuster.
Once upon a time, Blockbuster did rent porn, but that nasty old Hollander Wayne Huizenga bought the chain from Cook in the late 80's, the porn went bye-bye. After all, he did go to Calvin College, the backwards Christian school here in Grand Rapids funded by the wealthy Dutch Reformists. Even though the company had two successors post-Huizenga, the porn never came back. Even worse, when the NC-17 rating - designed to draw the line between porn and commercial films - was introduced in 1990, Blockbuster still refused to stock any titles.
So in the end, it sucks to be Blockbuster. I'll betcha that many local video renters - if there's any left - are rejoicing. Maybe if their business model was a little better and not as ass-kissy to the Dutch, they wouldn't be a pink sheet stock.
One less blue ticket to rip.
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