Blockbuster
defunct American-based provider of home movie and video game rental services; now a franchise brand name / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Blockbuster was an American retailer and media brand of home video (DVD, VHS), and video game rental services that was founded in 1985 by David Cook, and stopped existing in 2013.[2] In 2004, Blockbuster had 84,300 employees[3] and over 8,000 stores.[4][5]
Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Founder | David Cook |
Fate | Bankruptcy |
Successors | Sling TV Dish Movie Pack |
Number of locations | 1 remaining, Bend, Oregon, United States (privately owned, franchised)[lower-alpha 1] |
Services | Home video rentals |
Total assets | $37,000,000 (2010) |
Number of employees | 84,300 (2004) 25,000 (2010) 3 (2019)[1] |
Parent | Dish Network |
Website | blockbuster |
Blockbuster was founded in 1985 by David Cook, a technician. In 1994 it was bought by media giant Viacom and in 1997 John Antioco was named CEO. In 2004, they launched the "Blockbuster By Mail" DVD service to compete with Netflix and In 2007, James Keyes, a 7-Eleven executive, replaced Antioco as CEO. Blockbuster also started "Blockbuster On Demand" as an online-streaming service. Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy on September 23, 2010.[6][7] On April 6, 2011, the company and its remaining 1,700 stores were bought by the satellite television company Dish Network and Michael Kelly of Dish was named President of Blockbuster.[8][9] Stores remained open until Dish closed all company-owned locations in 2013.
In 2015, Blockbuster replaced "Blockbuster On Demand" with Sling TV, an over-the-top television service. The Blockbuster Fan Page originally tracked the franchise-owned stores, but as of 2019 there is only one location in Bend, Oregon.[10]