Blockbuster prepares to shut down its remaining 300 American retail stores, making them obsolete by January of next year.
Dish Network acquired Blockbuster in a bankruptcy auction for $320 million in 2011 and announced the decision on Wednesday.
Dish CEO Joseph Clayton said the move is in response to a shift in consumer demand toward on-demand, video services like Netflix and Hulu, the Chicago Tribune reported.
“This is not an easy decision, yet consumer demand is clearly moving to digital distribution of video entertainment,” Mr. Clayton said in a statement. “Despite our closing of the physical distribution elements of the business, we continue to see value in the Blockbuster brand, and we expect to leverage that brand as we continue to expand our digital offerings.”
Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in September 2010, with $1 billion in assets and $1.46 billion in debt, Bloomberg reported.
