Internet Kills the Video Store

Blockbuster, which had more than 9,000 retail stores across America nine short years ago, will close over the next two months the few hundred video-rental stores that it still has, said the company’s owner, Dish Network.

Dish acquired Blockbuster through a bankruptcy auction in 2011, after the retailer had already been decimated by digital video distributors. Dish says it still sees value in the brand name and will use it in limited ways. But it will close all Blockbuster locations -- it says there are about 300 left and the distribution centers that support a DVD-by-mail service. The remaining locations have, on average, 10 employees or fewer each.