R.I.P Blockbuster: All stores closed in UK

Blockbuster is now officially dead, with all stores closed and all employees laid off.

The 91 remaining Blockbusters open in the UK were unable to avoid the fate of their American counterparts and will close down on December 16th. All remaining 808 employees will also lose their jobs.

"It is with regret that we have to make today's announcement. We appreciate this is a difficult time for all concerned and would like to thank staff for their professionalism and support over the past month," said Thomas and O'Reilly, administrators of the bankrupt business. "Unfortunately, we were unable to secure a buyer for the group as a going concern and as a result had to take the regrettable action to close the remaining stores."

In the U.S., all 300 remaining stores will be closed out by January by its owner, Dish Network. For the UK stores, the company is liquidating and will offer 90 percent discounts on most items still in stock.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Dec 2013 21:34

megadunderhead

this doesn't surprise me most people in the u.s and even in the u.k have figured out red box and a dvd ripper is cheaper then 4.00 to rent a movie

14.12.2013 22:31 #1

TBandit

I think they still have the privately owned franchises open though, the one over here in the US is still open.

15.12.2013 01:45 #2

xboxdvl2

over here i saw a blockbuster machine like a softdrink machine but rents movies out.

custom built gaming pc from early 2010,ps2 with 15 games all original,ps3 500gbs with 5 games all original,yamaha amp and 5.1channel surround sound speakers,46inch sony lcd smart tv.

15.12.2013 03:28 #3

jookycola

Annnnnnd.......Redbox continues to succeed. DVD rental business has not died. It's still a viable business you just can't be 1 dimensional and greedy. There is a reason Netflix still offers DVD rentals and NOT killed off that part of their business. because it's still profitable.

in 2007 i had the choice of "3 at a time" unlimited DVD rentals from netflix for $15. The turnover was fast (return tuesday, got next movie thurssday) I could have easily 12 movies or more a month...or whole seasons of shows with neflix for the same price as renting only 4 movies at a blockbuster at $4 to $5 a pop. And they wonder where it all went wrong?

15.12.2013 03:31 #4

SomeBozo

Originally posted by jookycola: Annnnnnd.......Redbox continues to succeed. DVD rental business has not died. It's still a viable business you just can't be 1 dimensional and greedy. There is a reason Netflix still offers DVD rentals and NOT killed off that part of their business. because it's still profitable.

in 2007 i had the choice of "3 at a time" unlimited DVD rentals from netflix for $15. The turnover was fast (return tuesday, got next movie thurssday) I could have easily 12 movies or more a month...or whole seasons of shows with neflix for the same price as renting only 4 movies at a blockbuster at $4 to $5 a pop. And they wonder where it all went wrong? Redbox is not doing very well, look at their stock for the last quarter they missed there financial projections very badly and market analyst are saying the company (Outerwall) is in some serious problems going forward. They have no streaming option and people are for the most part getting away from wanting a DVD they need to mail in or pick-up/drop-off (netflix, redbox) and are going more towards netfl1ck, am0z0n, hu1u, and other streaming companies.

Also as a former employee of Outerwall, who was let go in the latest staffing cuts trust me Outerwall is going down unless they change something soon. They thought of doing a streaming videos a while back, but never acted on it and for them to get something now will be a hard uphill climb.

15.12.2013 15:52 #5

TreePro

Originally posted by xboxdvl2: over here i saw a blockbuster machine like a softdrink machine but rents movies out. Here in the States the Blockbuster Kiosks was owned by the NCR Corp. until they sold them to Redbox last year, which is owned by Coinstar. I rented from both, Blockbuster Kiosks was replaced with the Redbox. Now I have at least 20 Redboxes within 10 miles.

15.12.2013 16:42 #6

locobrown

There are 35 locations within a 2 mile radius from where I live. The same with Starbucks on every major street Avenue.

15.12.2013 20:58 #7

dEwMe

I don't see why they just don't switch over to 100% streaming already. Sure there are some without the internet connection but most people have multiple devices that can do Netflix and etc. Renting DVDs is just a waste of time and money except for new releases. They should be released for streaming as well and get it over with.

Just my $0.02,

dEwMe

16.12.2013 11:10 #8

SomeBozo

Originally posted by dEwMe: I don't see why they just don't switch over to 100% streaming already. Sure there are some without the internet connection but most people have multiple devices that can do Netflix and etc. Renting DVDs is just a waste of time and money except for new releases. They should be released for streaming as well and get it over with.
I use to be under the impression that what is available on DVD is also available for streaming, however talking to my friends that stream netf1ix their one complaint is the selection for streaming is a lot more limited then what they like. Also watching a video stream at a friends house with a really large screen, for me it doesn't compare to having a blueray, at least i can see a difference.

16.12.2013 11:47 #9

xboxdvl2

Originally posted by SomeBozo: Originally posted by dEwMe: I don't see why they just don't switch over to 100% streaming already. Sure there are some without the internet connection but most people have multiple devices that can do Netflix and etc. Renting DVDs is just a waste of time and money except for new releases. They should be released for streaming as well and get it over with.
I use to be under the impression that what is available on DVD is also available for streaming, however talking to my friends that stream netf1ix their one complaint is the selection for streaming is a lot more limited then what they like. Also watching a video stream at a friends house with a really large screen, for me it doesn't compare to having a blueray, at least i can see a difference. streaming doesnt work for me,even running medias stream files pause and stutter at parts.not everyone has latest super fast internet connections.plus theres piracy issues as fraps can record anything displayed on your screen.

custom built gaming pc from early 2010,ps2 with 15 games all original,ps3 500gbs with 5 games all original,yamaha amp and 5.1channel surround sound speakers,46inch sony lcd smart tv.

16.12.2013 13:57 #10

AfterDawn: News