Blockbuster Video To Shut Down Remaining U.S. Stores

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Not so many years ago, a Blockbuster video store could be found in virtually every neighborhood in the city.

But now, the days of standing in line with a pack of movie candy and the latest DVD release, and returning your movies and games to the drop chute, are set to come to an end permanently.

Englewood, Colo.-based Dish Network Corp., which owns the Blockbuster brand, announced Wednesday that the last 300 remaining brick-and-mortar Blockbuster stores are shutting down. Only about 50 U.S. stores operating under franchise agreements will remain open.

The company is also shutting down Blockbuster's DVD-by-mail service next month.

Dish Network said it is moving toward using Blockbuster for digital video distribution, with Blockbuster at Home and Blockbuster on Demand.

As of this past winter, there were only five Blockbuster stores within the five boroughs of New York City. As of Wednesday, the only remaining Tri-State Area locations listed on the company website were in Belleville, Elizabeth, and Fair Lawn, N.J.

Blockbuster's downfall began more than a decade ago with the rise of Netflix Inc.'s DVD-by-mail service, followed by the introduction of a subscription service that streams video over high-speed Internet connections.

Dish Network bought Blockbuster out of bankruptcy court in 2011.

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