70 Facts About Blockbuster Inc

Blockbuster Inc LLC, formerly known as Blockbuster Inc Video, was an American-based provider of home movie and video game rental services.

In 1990, Blockbuster Inc bought mid-Atlantic rival Erol's which had more than 250 stores.

In 1992, Blockbuster Inc acquired the Sound Warehouse and Music Plus music retail chains and created Blockbuster Inc Music.

In October 1993, Blockbuster Inc took a controlling interest in Spelling Entertainment Group, a media company run by television producer Aaron Spelling.

Blockbuster Inc became a multibillion-dollar company, but Huizenga was worried about how new technology could threaten their business, such as video on demand and the growth of cable television.

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In November 1996 Blockbuster Inc confirmed that it was moving its headquarters from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to the Renaissance Tower in downtown Dallas.

Blockbuster Inc had offered various relocation packages to all of its Fort Lauderdale staff.

Blockbuster Inc was to have rights to rent new DVD releases for a period of time before they went on sale to the general public.

Blockbuster Inc turned the offer down, and the studio responded by lowering its DVD wholesale price in order to compete with the rental industry.

In 1998, Blockbuster Inc created DEJ Productions, which acquired 225 films primarily to provide exclusive content to its Blockbuster Inc stores prior to being sold off to First Look Studios in 2005.

In 2009, Blockbuster Inc sold off its Irish operations to Birchall Investments, with the few Xtra-vision stores in the UK being rebranded as Blockbuster Inc.

In late 1998, Blockbuster launched a loyalty program called Blockbuster Rewards that allowed customers to earn free rentals, including one older title each month from the category of Blockbuster Favorites.

Also in 2000, Blockbuster Inc turned down a chance to purchase the fledgling Netflix for $50 million.

In 2002, Blockbuster Inc acquired Movie Trading Company, a Dallas chain that buys, sells, and trades movies and games, to study potential business models for DVD and game trading.

Blockbuster Inc rolled out its "Game Rush" store-in-store concept to approximately 450 domestic company-operated stores.

In December 2004, Blockbuster announced its intention to pursue a hostile takeover of Hollywood Video, its major U S competitor.

Icahn accused Blockbuster of overpaying chairman and CEO John F Antioco, who had served in that capacity since 1997, receiving $51.

Also in 2005, Blockbuster Inc began a campaign promoting its "No more late fees" policy.

Blockbuster Inc later settled the suit by agreeing to refunds, as well as promising to better explain the policy.

Blockbuster Inc introduced a new business strategy that included enhancements to existing stores.

In March 2010, Blockbuster Inc began "Additional Daily Rates", or "ADRs", for rentals not returned by their due date in the United States, having already used this procedure in other countries such as the UK for many years.

Blockbuster Inc hired Jeff Stegenga to be its chief restructuring officer in an effort to satisfy bondholder demands and recapitalize the company.

Blockbuster Inc admitted that it might not be able to meet financial obligations required under its Chapter 11 filing, a circumstance which could mandate conversion of the bankruptcy filing to Chapter 7 .

Blockbuster Inc signed a deal with ITV Studios Global Entertainment to launch ITV Programmes released on DVDs, Blu-rays, etc.

Blockbuster Inc's decline was attributed to poor leadership according to others in the industry.

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Sumner Redstone, whose Viacom conglomerate then owned Blockbuster Inc, personally pioneered a new revenue-sharing arrangement for video in the mid-1980s.

Blockbuster Inc stores followed a strategy of emphasizing access to the most popular new releases, obtaining early access and stocking many copies of the new-release titles, with a relatively smaller depth of selection than traditional independent video stores.

Blockbuster Inc sometimes contracted with studios to obtain earlier access to new titles than other companies could achieve.

In November 2001, Blockbuster Inc announced that it would cancel the 2002 award show following concerns about viewership and celebrity attendance after the September 11 attacks.

Blockbuster Inc Express was a movie-rental kiosk brand sublicensed for use by licensee NCR Corporation.

In 2004, Blockbuster Inc opened store-within-a-store video game rental and sales stores called GameRush inside Blockbuster Inc locations in limited markets.

Blockbuster Inc acquired Rhino Video Games, a chain of video game stores in the Southwest, and renamed them Game Rush.

Blockbuster Inc used its location status to get instant coverage; it promoted these stores by hosting video-game tournaments, special trade-in offers, and a more 'hip' look to the selection and staff.

However, when Blockbuster Inc introduced the discontinuation of late fees, GameRush was put on the chopping block.

In 1993, Blockbuster Inc invested in the indoor kids' play restaurant Discovery Zone.

In 1992, the Virgin Group and Blockbuster Inc entered into a joint venture to set up Australia's first Virgin Megastores in Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide.

In July 1998, Blockbuster Inc Australia launched into franchising with the conversion of the former Video Flicks franchise group in Queensland, and the former Movieland group in Western Australia six months later.

In February 2007, Blockbuster Inc sold its entire Australian store network to Video Ezy.

At the time, Blockbuster Inc Australia comprised 370 outlets nationwide—29 owned by the company and 341 owned by franchisees.

However, since the two brands came together, the network has shrunk, reflected in Video Ezy and Blockbuster franchises closing 270 stores across Australia in the four years to August 2011.

Blockbuster Inc was the largest video rental chain in the country, but finances were not good enough due to high rental prices.

In January 2007, when Blockbuster Inc had 127 stores across Brazil, it sold its Brazilian stake for $87.

In Canada, Blockbuster Inc Canada had operated independently, and it initially remained financially stable.

Blockbuster Inc had acted as a guarantor towards Blockbuster's remaining debt.

Blockbuster Inc came to Denmark in 1996 with the acquisition of the 29 Christianshavn video stores.

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Several Smart TVs have the Blockbuster Inc app pre-installed out-of-the-box, and it is available on a variety of streaming devices such as Google's Chromecast.

Blockbuster Inc opened 20 stores in Berlin and Munich and announced plans to open 250 more.

Blockbuster Inc pulled out of the market in 2004 after high operating costs and losses to copyright infringement.

In March 2010, Blockbuster Inc announced that it intended to sell all operations in Europe.

Blockbuster Inc once had an Irish subsidiary, Xtravision, which did not operate under the Blockbuster brand name.

Blockbuster Inc sold Xtravision at a loss in August 2009 to Birchhall Investments Limited.

In December 2011, Blockbuster Inc closed off its last branch store, and had only 80 automated video rentals left.

In March 1991, Fujita Den Trading and Blockbuster Inc entered into a joint venture to establish Japan's first Blockbuster Video stores.

Blockbuster Inc Japan faced heavy competition from Osaka-based video rental chain, Tsutaya, with its 817 outlets, but the company saw opportunity in the population having high VCR ownership levels, low satellite TV penetration, and well-ordered store layouts .

All of which meant Blockbuster Inc was unable to fit adequately into the Japanese market, and was immediately put at a disadvantage compared to competitors that had no such ethical stance.

Blockbuster Inc handed its remaining shares over to Fujita Den Trading in 1999, and exited the Japanese market.

In December 2002 the first Blockbuster Inc store opened in Norway, and was followed by another store some months later in 2003, both located in Oslo.

In 2007, Blockbuster Inc announced that it plans to shut down its stores in Peru due to poor revenues, which it blamed on the effect of movie piracy.

Blockbuster Inc had already closed down its stores in Ecuador, Portugal and Costa Rica.

The first re-branded Blockbuster Inc outlet opened on Walworth Road, South London, the same year.

Blockbuster Inc UK operated trade functions in all their stores, buying and selling pre-owned DVDs, console games, and gaming accessories.

In September 2018, to coincide with the digital release of Deadpool 2, a pop-up retail store in the style of an original 1989 Blockbuster outlet was opened for two days in Shoreditch in East London.

In January 2006, Blockbuster Inc Brazil introduced an online rental service now featuring both DVD and Blu-ray plans.

Blockbuster Inc UK aired a monthly BB Insider online video show from May 2010 to January 2011 and launched an iPhone App in September 2010.

In May 2012, Blockbuster Inc UK partnered with IGN to launch a new Blockbuster Inc VIP Gamer loyalty program.

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In 2001, Enron and Blockbuster Inc attempted to create a 20-year deal to stream movies on demand over Enron's fiber optic network.

Blockbuster Inc's move to follow the business pattern with its online rentals as was established by Netflix prompted Netflix to sue Blockbuster Inc for patent infringement.

Blockbuster Inc counter sued with a counterclaim alleging deceptive practices with its patent which it alleged was designed to maintain an illegal monopoly.

In 2005, Blockbuster Inc launched a marketing campaign describing changes in its late fees policy and offering "No Late Fees" on rentals.

Blockbuster Inc reintroduced late fees in the United States in 2010 under the name of "Additional Daily Rates".