Blockbuster to close all stores, end mail service

Blockbuster video will close all of its 300 stores and cease its DVD-by-mail operations, its owner, DISH Network, announced Wednesday. The company cited the rise of digital video distribution as the reason for the closure, saying it plans to expand its online offerings.

The stores will close by January 2014, and Blockbuster-by-Mail will end next month.

Earlier this year, Blockbuster announced another culling of 300 stores. About 3,000 people lost their jobs at that time. In 2004 the company had 9,000 outlets, Ars Technica reported. 

"This is not an easy decision, yet consumer demand is clearly moving to digital distribution of video entertainment," said DISH President Joseph P. Clayton in a statement announcing the closures.

"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."

DISH says it will keep its cache of DVDs and rights to the Blockbuster brand name.

Wednesday's announcement marks the latest in a long decline for the company, which filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and faced regulatory challenges to opening its own streaming service in the mid-2000s.

By contrast, Netflix's stock price has more than doubled over the past year, according to Forbes.

Blockbuster is not the only video rental store chain that has suffered. In 2010, competitor Hollywood Video closed.

The husks of those physical stores, once community fixtures for finding filmed entertainment, have found new purposes, from beauty supply stores to bars.