Blockbuster

Blockbuster was an American retailer chain and media brand of home video (DVD, VHS), and video game rental services. The company stopped existing in 2013. In 2004, Blockbuster had 84,300 employees and over 8,000 stores.

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. 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. 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 2020, the majority of stores do not exist anymore.

However, while the company itself is all but dead, there is one last remaining Blockbuster location that is still open in Bend, Oregon. It is colloquially called "The Last Blockbuster"

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Category:1985 establishments in the United States
Category:2014 disestablishments in the United States
Category:Movie distribution