# Is Blockbuster Video in trouble? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 11, 2007, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327 "2007-07-11T03:57:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/1 "2007-07-11T03:57:07Z")
When I was in high school, I was present for the opening of the huge, huge Blockbuster video in the little shopping center a stone’s throw from my house. This thing was sprawling…what was once three whole storefronts turned into a yellow-and-blue showcase of the biggest collection of motion pictures I’ve seen in my life. A little while later, a second one opened up in an older shopping area a little farther from home. Then one in Ala Moana. Mililani. Waikele. Waipahu. Kaneohe. BV was _everywhere_. Eventually two local video stores near the aformentioned first location crashed out of business (one of which I frequently patronized ☹ ) and a third bounced from location to location (and ultimately vanished without a trace). Eventually, the huge BV became not so huge. In fact, its space was cut in half. Not nearly as impressive, but still vairly voluminous. And all the other stores were doing fine. Then the Waikele location closed. No explanation given. Wasn’t that close, so I didn’t mind too much. Then the first location contracted again. Then two more locations contracted. Then, just last month, the first location closed. Permanently. Which means that there’s now _one_ remaining location within a reasonable distance. (I’m not even sure about the Mililani one right now.) I know that businesses come and go, sometimes without warning (I’m still surprised at how one day Waldenbooks simply didn’t exist anymore), but that’s a massive cutdown by any standard. I know the franchise on the whole has made a lot of questionable policy decisions, but it’s still pretty hard to beat movie rentals for a reliable customer base. Sign of trouble? Or is this simply overexpansion being corrected? Anyone else witness a bunch of contractions/closures in the past few years? ---
**Author:** ![snowmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@snowmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowmaster)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/2 "2007-07-11T04:34:43Z")
Forgive me, I’m a few months out of date on trade magazines… In general, video rental is dying. Netflix is taking away a lot of business, and BBuster is just now advertising heavily at least where I live in serious competition with thewir online/instore combo package. BBuster lost HUGE on their “No more late fees” plan. Some of the contractions may have been planned and strategic, DVD’s take a third of the shelf space of VHS when bookshelved, so far fewer shelving units are needed than 5 years ago. Also, Carl Ichan bouight up a pile of BBuster stock, and was/is pushing hard for them to slim down and make profit. I’ve worked 6 years for a small chain or independat video rental stores. Hope this helps. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/3 "2007-07-11T13:01:00Z")
Blockbuster has a huge online rental business; they’ve shifted their business model. It actually makes for a compelling model, online combined with local stores. Time will tell if it is a long term model as more rentals shift to IPTV. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/4 "2007-07-11T13:50:12Z")
Another competitor for video rental is video on demand. Not big right now, but a definite threat in the future. Blockbuster is trying to do more mail order, but it’s in a contracting industry. Remember when there were dozens of video rental stores? They are vanishing, and places like supermarkets are eliminating their video rentals or going with something like [Redbox](http://www.redbox.com/) kiosks. Blockbuster always had a very weak selection, anyway. If you wanted the most popular films, they’d always have a copy, but if you wanted anything that wasn’t a blockbuster, you were out of luck. I was glad when the Blockbuster near us became Hollywood Video. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/5 "2007-07-11T13:58:45Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] I was glad when the Blockbuster near us became Hollywood Video. [/QUOTE] :dubious: Blockbuster always seems to have a better selection than Hollywood, then again that makes sense since they always seem to be about twice as big. Then again I’ve rented about 8 movies in the past 8 years, but I always have to go to several stores before I find what I want even if it’s Blockbuster. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/6 "2007-07-11T14:00:17Z")
I would say that they **are** in trouble simply because they have gone with the Blu-Ray format rather than HD-DVD. We see how well proprietary Sony products have done in the past-Freakin’ BETAMAX should have been the clue for Blockbuster IMHO. (Not to mention the UMD, memory stick, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/7 "2007-07-11T14:19:07Z")
[QUOTE=Spit] I would say that they **are** in trouble simply because they have gone with the Blu-Ray format rather than HD-DVD. We see how well proprietary Sony products have done in the past-Freakin’ BETAMAX should have been the clue for Blockbuster IMHO. [/quote] I haven’t really chosen sides in the Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD competition, and I mostly agree with you about Sony’s track record when it comes to storage media, but getting a big company like Blockbuster behind them might be just what Sony needs to win this battle in the format wars. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/8 "2007-07-11T14:56:23Z")
Looking at their latest 10k, revenues have remained flat since 2002 (5.5 bil vs. 5.5 bil), however profitability has been a bit of a problem: 2002: -$1.6 bil 2003: -$978 mil 2004: -$1.2 bil 2005: -$588 mil 2006: +$54 mill Total net losses: $3.8 billion They have been shrinking: total assets in that time period have gone from $6.2 billion to $3.2 billion. They also piled on the long-term debt in 2004, having it go from $75 million to $1.19 billion in that year. Shareholders equity has plummeted from $4 billion to $742 million. So, yeah, they’re in trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/9 "2007-07-11T15:05:35Z")
[QUOTE=Telemark] Blockbuster has a huge online rental business; they’ve shifted their business model. It actually makes for a compelling model, online combined with local stores. Time will tell if it is a long term model as more rentals shift to IPTV. [/QUOTE] Well, it would if they ever had what you wanted! The BF was all like “Why don’t we quit Netflix and go with Blockbuster? We can get movies when we want them here!” and I was all like “When is the last time we went into Blockbuster for something specific and they actually had it?” \ ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/10 "2007-07-11T15:06:18Z")
[QUOTE=Spit] I would say that they **are** in trouble simply because they have gone with the Blu-Ray format rather than HD-DVD. We see how well proprietary Sony products have done in the past-Freakin’ BETAMAX should have been the clue for Blockbuster IMHO. [/QUOTE] Only Universal Studios is exclusively supporting HD DVD, while the other studios support either Blu-Ray or both formats (i.e., it’s not proprietary to Sony), so I think Blockbuster went with the leader this time. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/11 "2007-07-11T21:23:21Z")
[QUOTE=Spit] I would say that they **are** in trouble simply because they have gone with the Blu-Ray format rather than HD-DVD. We see how well **proprietary** Sony products have done in the past-Freakin’ BETAMAX should have been the clue for Blockbuster IMHO.[/size] [/QUOTE] [Inigo Montoya] I do not think it (“proprietary”) means what you think it means. [/Inigo Montoya] Beta and VHS are just two formats. Any company could license either one. So Beta VCRs were made by Sanyo, Toshiba and others. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/12 "2007-07-11T21:50:31Z")
I was just wondering this. First the BB close to my house closed and all accounts were automatically moved to the next closest store. Then one day that BB closed. It was all done quickly and in the dead of the night. Guess whoever had movies out got to keep them! Now the Movie Gallery close to our house has a big sign that says “Welcome Blockbuster Customers!” I’m liking them better right now anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/13 "2007-07-11T22:04:23Z")
I know I’ve almost completely stopped going to Blockbuster as their prices have gotten into the stratosphere. Not sure if this is a cause or an effect, but it’s certainly not good for their business. $6 for a one evening rental? Seriously? ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/14 "2007-07-11T22:46:15Z")
Another factor in Blockbuster’s troubles is that DVDs for purchase are now pretty cheap. You can buy new releases for $13-20. To many people, that compares favorably to making 2 trips to BB, and paying up to $6 for the privilege. ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/15 "2007-07-11T23:45:41Z")
(I’m still surprised at how one day Waldenbooks simply didn’t exist anymore) Walden Books doesn’t exist anymore? Where was I? ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/16 "2007-07-11T23:46:59Z")
It seems to me that Blockbuster has a better model than Netflix, at least for the customers. You’re getting (potentially) twice as many rentals by not having to wait for each movie to come, and there are bonuses like free video game rental coupons and so on. And from their standpoint, they’re presumably saving money over Netflix by mailing the returns in bulk instead of individually. Of course, they’re still paying to have those physical locations… ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/17 "2007-07-12T00:48:28Z")
[QUOTE=Ronald C. Semone] (I’m still surprised at how one day Waldenbooks simply didn’t exist anymore) Walden Books doesn’t exist anymore? Where was I? [/QUOTE] Starting 2004, the stores were rebranded as “Borders Express.” ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/18 "2007-07-12T03:48:07Z")
[QUOTE=It’s Not Rocket Surgery!] Another factor in Blockbuster’s troubles is that DVDs for purchase are now pretty cheap. You can buy new releases for $13-20. To many people, that compares favorably to making 2 trips to BB, and paying up to $6 for the privilege. [/QUOTE] This is pretty astute and hearkens back to a viciously-fought debate between Wal-Mart and Blockbuster back in the late 1990’s - the pricing of DVD’s. BB wanted them “priced to rent”, ala video tapes, with each DVD having an average price-point over $50, many of them over $100. Wal-Mart demanded that they be “priced to sell”, with an average price-point below $30 and many of them below $20. Wal-Mart won. Since then home libraries exploded, BBV lost the “movie aficionado” market (if (the rhetorical) you love _Casablanca_ so much, even if you’re broke you can still buy the thing), and had to reorient their store to display more “crowd pleasers” and less classics/documentaries/foreign films/etc. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/19 "2007-07-12T04:36:41Z")
[QUOTE=Hello Again] Starting 2004, the stores were rebranded as “Borders Express.” [/QUOTE] Not all of them. There’s a Waldenbooks not twenty minutes from where I am right now. If their paper job application is any sign, it’s not the only one. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327/20 "2007-07-12T05:32:14Z")
[QUOTE=Ronald C. Semone] (I’m still surprised at how one day Waldenbooks simply didn’t exist anymore) Walden Books doesn’t exist anymore? Where was I? [/QUOTE] Borders recently cut the number of Waldenbook outlets in half, and closed all of them in many cities. Many, maybe 300, are still around, though. I’ve never seen a Borders Express, but a search says that Borders converted at least 100 Waldenbook outlets to them. They do seem more like small Borders stores and less like Waldenbooks. > **[News Archives](https://www.findarticles.com/news/)** > > Explore the News Articles featuring Technology, Business, Entertainment, and Science & Health topics. Access reports, insights, and stories. > [@](#): > > Customers will enjoy the new, stylish design of the Borders Express store, the additional soft seating, as well as an expanded merchandise selection, including music, movies, gifts and stationery. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blockbuster-video-in-trouble/411327.md?page=2)