Dish Network has finally thrown in the towel on its Blockbuster video retail stores, announcing Tuesday that it will shutter the remaining 300 locations of the iconic home video pioneer by early January while retaining its brand name and streaming businesses.
Dish originally purchased Blockbuster out of bankruptcy in 2011 for $320 million and had planned to keep its retail presence intact at least in less populated markets. But the availability of streaming video on the Internet, Netflix and countless other DVD and video rental options took its toll.
“This is not an easy decision, yet consumer demand is clearly moving to digital distribution of video entertainment,” said Dish CEO Joseph Clayton 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.”
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