Blockbuster Inc.
Type	Public (NYSE: BBI)
Founded	1985
Headquarters	Renaissance Tower, Dallas, Texas  United States
Key people	James W. A public company usually refers to a company that is permitted to offer its registered securities ( Stock, bonds, etc The New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE) is a Stock exchange based in New York City. Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) Renaissance Tower, located at 1201 Elm Street in downtown Dallas, Texas is a 56-story modern -styled Skyscraper. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Keyes, CEO, Chairperson
Industry	Home Entertainment
Products	Retailing-DVD/Video/Video Games
Revenue	US$5. A chief executive officer ( CEO) or chief executive is typically the highest-ranking corporate officer ( executive) or administrator For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" In Marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a Market that might satisfy a want or need In business revenue or revenues is Income that a company receives from its normal business activities usually from the sale of goods and services The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been 23 billion (2006)
Employees	128,000
Website	www.blockbuster.com

Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) is the largest chain of DVD and video game rental stores in the world. The New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE) is a Stock exchange based in New York City. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. It is headquartered at Renaissance Tower in downtown Dallas, Texas. Renaissance Tower, located at 1201 Elm Street in downtown Dallas, Texas is a 56-story modern -styled Skyscraper. Downtown Dallas is the main business district in Dallas, Texas USA, located in the geographic center of the city

Contents 1 History 2 Business model 2.1 Marketing 2.2 Quantity and selection of titles 3 Retail operations 3.1 GameRush stores 4 Blockbuster Online 4.1 United States 4.2 United Kingdom 5 Brazil 5.1 Movielink acquisition 6 Throttling 7 References 8 External links

History

Blockbuster began in Dallas, Texas when it opened its first store on October 19, 1985. Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) The founder of the company was Wayne Huizenga. Harry Wayne Huizenga (born December 29, 1937 in Evergreen Park Illinois) is the owner of 50% of the National Football League 's Miami Dolphins Cook grew the business and brought it public before handing the reins to CEO Joe Mitchell, who quickly grew it into a multi-billion dollar corporation. The company became a part of Viacom Inc. Viacom ( ( short for " Vi deo & A udio Com munications" is an American Media conglomerate with various worldwide interests in 1994 at a price of $8. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) 4 billion. Also in 1994, the Blockbuster Block Party concept was test-marketed in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Indianapolis, Indiana; Block Party was an "entertainment complex" aimed at adults, contained eight themed areas housing a restaurant, games, laser tag arena and motion simulator rides and was housed in a windowless building the size of a city block. During the 1990s Blockbuster bought out their major UK rival Ritz Video and changed the name of all the stores to their own, which made them the number one video rental store in the country by a wide margin.

In 1996, the Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation (as it was then known) was renamed Blockbuster, Inc. and the retail stores, then called Blockbuster Video were renamed Blockbuster. Older stores have not changed.

In 2002, Blockbuster 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. Also that year, they acquired Gamestation, a 64 store UK computer and console games retailer chain. Gamestation is a chain of UK retail shops selling used and new video games and was the second-largest specialist video game retailer in the UK until they were bought out by

Blockbuster separated from Viacom in 2004 and launched Game Pass nationwide. Online DVD subscription was introduced on Blockbuster. com (aka Blockbuster Online). [1] Blockbuster also rolled out its Game Rush store-in-store concept to approximately 450 domestic company-operated stores. Blockbuster began game and DVD trading in select US stores too. [2]

Overall, Blockbuster has lost significant amounts of money in recent years: $1. 6 billion in 2002, almost $1. 0 billion in 2003, and $1. 2 billion in 2004.

As of February 2006, the company had a market value of almost $500 million. Market value is the price at which an asset would trade in a competitive Walrasian auction setting

On July 2, 2007, the company named James W. Events 310 - Pope Miltiades is elected 626 - In fear of assassination Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rival Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Keyes (former president and CEO of 7-Eleven) as the new chairman and CEO. 7-Eleven is a worldwide chain of Convenience stores It is since March 2007 the largest chain store in any category beating McDonald's by 1000 stores Keyes had worked at the convenience store chain for 21 years until 2005, when it was sold to Seven & I Holdings Co. Since this point, he has introduced a new business strategy that includes de-emphasizing the unprofitable Total Access online service, in favor of an in-store, retail orientated model. is a diversified Retail group headquarterd in Tokyo, Japan. Founded originally in 1920 as Ito Yokado, Seven & I is now the fifth largest retailer His predecessor John F. Antioco attempted this same plan initially in 1997. He replaced John F. Antioco who had been leading Blockbuster since 1997. Additionally, Blockbuster Inc. lifted the ban on using check cards to secure rentals of movies and games in excess of the per-visit check out limit. Customers who were once required to use a major credit card are now free to use their check card.

On September 14 2007, Blockbuster GB Limited bought a number of retail stores from ChoicesUK Plc. ChoicesUK is an AIM listed multi-channel distributor and retailer of DVDs, computer games and CDs. The sale will secure employment for approximately 450 employees across 59 stores in the UK. As part of the transaction, Blockbuster GB will re-brand the stores as BLOCKBUSTER.

Business model

The standard business model for video rental stores was that they would pay a large flat fee per video, approximately US$65, and have unlimited rentals for the lifetime of the cassette itself. It was Sumner Redstone, whose Viacom conglomerate then owned Blockbuster, who personally pioneered a new revenue-sharing arrangement for video, in the mid-1990s. Sumner Murray Redstone (born Sumner Murray Rothstein; May 27 1923) is Majority owner and Chairman of the Board of the National Blockbuster obtained videos for little cost and kept 60 percent rental fee, paying the other 40 percent to the studio, and reporting rental information through Rentrak. The Rentrak Corporation, ( founded in 1984, is an information management company based in Portland Oregon, United States. What Blockbuster got out of the deal, besides a lower initial price, was that movies were not available for sale during an initial release period, at least at an affordable price point - customers either had to rent, wait, or buy the film on tape at the much higher MSRP price targeted at other rental chains and film enthusiasts, at that time then between $70-$100 before the end of the initial release period. The ( manufacturer's) suggested retail price ( MSRP or SRP) list price or recommended retail price ( RRP) (originally

Marketing

One of Blockbuster's most well known advertising campaigns was launched during the 2002 Super Bowl. An advertising campaign is a series of Advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC professional American football, the Super Bowl is the Championship game of the National Football League (NFL It starred the voices of Jim Belushi and James Woods, as a rabbit and a guinea pig in a pet shop, located across the road from a Blockbuster store. James Adam "Jim" Belushi (born June 15, 1954) is an American Actor, Comedian and Musician, the younger brother James Howard Woods (born April 18 1947) is a two-time Academy Award -nominated Emmy Award -winning and Golden Globe -winning American Rabbits are small Mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world The Guinea pig (also commonly called the cavy after its scientific name Cavia porcellus) is a species of Rodent belonging to the family Caviidae The first campaign ended in 2003. The Carl and Ray campaign started again in 2007 starting with a commercial in the first quarter of Super Bowl XLI. Super Bowl XLI was an American football game played on February 4 2007 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, a suburb of

Quantity and selection of titles

Blockbuster, like most other rental stores, tends to stock more copies of new movies than older releases, in order to capitalize on heavy consumer demand for new release titles. The trade term is "depth of copy". ^[1] Titles that are more than one year past their initial release date are stored as "Blockbuster Favorite" (non-new release) titles. Typically only one in four rental copies are retained past the first year of release. The large volume of new release copies are typically sold after the initial renting rush. Some of these copies are sold as "previously viewed" for around $10-15, sometimes as low as $3. 99. Most Blockbuster locations also accept trade-ins of used DVDs which are sold alongside the existing stock of previously rented movies.

Representing itself as a family-friendly chain, Blockbuster has never rented or sold pornographic titles in the US market (other markets vary), though the stores carry R-rated and unrated films, including a large number of "soft porn" titles (including Red Shoe Diaries. Pornography or porn is the explicit depiction of Sexual subject matter with the sole intention of sexually exciting the viewer The Motion Picture Association of America's film-rating system is used in the U Softcore (or soft porn) is a form of Pornography, either video or nude Glamour photography, that is less explicit than hardcore material Red Shoe Diaries is an erotic and drama series that aired on the American cable television network Showtime from Red Shoe Diaries was distributed exclusively by Blockbuster in a now expired agreement with Showtime during the Viacom era). Showtime is a subscription television Brand used by a number of channels and platforms around the world but primarily refers to a group of channels in the United Blockbuster requires employees to check ID and does not allow rental of youth restricted titles with a rating over R to children under 17 unless their parents have specifically allowed it through a family account. R is the eighteenth letter of the modern Latin alphabet. Its name in English is spelled ar (ɑr pronounced or)

Blockbuster has been the exclusive rental chain for The Weinstein Company movies since January 1, 2007,^[2] although due to the First Sale Doctrine, other rental stores can still rent DVDs released by The Weinstein Company. The Weinstein Company is an independent American Film studio founded by Harvey and Bob Weinstein in 2005 after the pair left The first-sale doctrine is a limitation on Copyright that was recognized by the U

After a pilot program launched in late 2006, on June 19, 2007, Blockbuster announced that it had chosen Blu-Ray over HD-DVD rental format to rent out in a majority of its stores. In the pilot program, Blockbuster offered selected titles for rental and sale in 250 stores. Blockbuster now plans to stock Blu-Ray titles in almost 5,000 stores across the United States and Canada. ^[3]

Retail operations

Blockbuster has many locations in over thirty countries, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Ireland, Panama, Puerto Rico, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Brazil, Chile, Taiwan, Italy, Denmark, Venezuela, and Colombia. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. Uruguay.(official full name in República Oriental del Uruguay;, Oriental Republic of Uruguay) is a country located in the southeastern part of South America Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. Puerto Rico (ˌpwertoˈriko officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ("Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico" {{lang-en|"Associated Free State of Puerto Rico"}} The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Venezuela (ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə) officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a country on the Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America.

Blockbuster states that it currently has 5,192 stores across the United States. International stores (operating under Blockbuster and other brands) totaled 3,291, in 2004 including 426 in Canada, 897 in Britain, and 408 in Australia. It has been claimed that there are more than 43 million U. S. households with Blockbuster memberships. [3]

The company has an Irish subsidiary, Xtravision, which does not operate under the Blockbuster brand name. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Xtra-vision Limited is Ireland 's largest chain of Video rental stores founded in 1979. A brand is a collection of Images and ideas representing an economic producer more specifically it refers to the descriptive verbal attributes and concrete symbols such as a

In Australia, the company pursued a franchising model whereby its corporate stores, which peaked at 133 in 1998, were converted into franchises. The company also disbanded its chain of Game Rush video game stores, presumably as a part of the U. S. headquarters’ strategy to focus on core rental business. Metropolitan Victoria (Melbourne) was the last remaining significant concentration of corporate stores. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3

In December 2004, Blockbuster announced it wanted to pursue a hostile takeover of Hollywood Video, its major U. In business a takeover is the purchase of one company (the target) by another (the acquirer, or bidder) Movie Gallery Inc, headquartered in Dothan, Alabama, is the second largest movie and game rental company in the United States, behind Blockbuster S. competitor. In response, Hollywood Video agreed to a buyout in January 2005 by a smaller competitor, the Dothan, Alabama-based Movie Gallery. Dothan is a city located in the southeastern corner of the US Movie Gallery Inc, headquartered in Dothan, Alabama, is the second largest movie and game rental company in the United States, behind Blockbuster

In February 2007, Blockbuster announced plans to sell its Australian subsidiary and franchising rights to Video Ezy, subject to approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Video Ezy is Australia 's largest video and DVD rental chain with over 550 stores within Australia as well as over 140 stores in New Zealand and 200 throughout South-East Asia The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC is an independent authority of the Government of Australia. Blockbuster's Australian operations encompassed 29 company-owned stores and 341 franchises, which Video Ezy would continue to operate using the Blockbuster brand. ^[4]

On June 29, 2007, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Blockbuster announced on June 28, 2007 that the company would be closing 282 US stores that year. Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The Hollywood Reporter is a major trade publication of the Film industry in the United States. Events 1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

On December 18, 2007, a store in Dallas was renamed Blockbuster Media.

Blockbuster has announced that it plans to shut down its stores in Peru, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, where piracy has had a large effect on the movie market. Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. Uruguay.(official full name in República Oriental del Uruguay;, Oriental Republic of Uruguay) is a country located in the southeastern part of South America 'Copyright infringement' (or copyright violation) is the unauthorized use of material that is covered by Copyright law in a manner that violates ^[5] The company has already closed down its stores in Ecuador, Spain and El Salvador. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Ecuador topics. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. El Salvador ( República de El Salvador,) is a country in Central America.

GameRush stores

In Summer 2003, Blockbuster started converting select stores in select regions to GameRush stores. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. These stores sell and buy consumers DVDs, games, gaming systems, and accessories. It is offered as a direct competition to stores such as GameStop and Game Crazy. GameStop Corporation ( is the world's largest Video game and entertainment software retailer Game Crazy is a Video game retailer in the United States and is a fully owned subsidiary of Movie Gallery. Blockbuster used their location status to get instant coverage; it also promotes these stores by hosting video game tournaments, special trade-in offers, and a more "hip" look to the selection and staff. However when Blockbuster introduced "The End of Late Fees" GameRush was put on the chopping block. As of April 2007, GameRush stores are being reduced back to just a games section.

Blockbuster Online

United States

In August 2004, Blockbuster introduced an online DVD rental service in the U. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Online DVD rentals allow a person to rent DVDs by Mail. Generally all interaction between the renter and the rental company takes place through the company's S. to compete with the established market leader, Netflix. Netflix ( is the largest Online DVD rental service offering Flat rate rental-by-mail and online streaming to customers in the United States ^[6]

Blockbuster's U. S. online operation started with around 10 warehouses; further expansions every year have brought that number to 41, plus 1400+ stores in the Blockbuster Online network. Most Blockbuster independent franchises do not honor the Total Access program. The company had 1. 5 million subscribers at the end of the third quarter of 2006 (as compared to 5. 6 million for Netflix). ^[7] Blockbuster's move to follow the business pattern with its online rentals as was established by Netflix prompted Netflix to sue Blockbuster for infringement of patent. Blockbuster counter sued Netflix with a counterclaim alleging deceptive practices with its patent which it alleges was designed to maintain an illegal monopoly.

Currently Blockbuster offers several online rental plans. Until July 26, 2007, Blockbuster offered and advertised unlimited free in-store exchanges of online rentals with all plans, included free of charge. Blockbuster currently offers the original plans for the original price with limited in-store exchanges and for a substantially higher price point, the consumer may have the original plan with unlimited in store exchanges. The change was due to what can only be perceived as a tactical maneuver to prevent the consumer from over utilizing the in-store exchange benefit, (reference Blockbuster incident #070819-005769). As of September 2007, the online system was changed to the new online system of a few in store exchanges instead of unlimited. Many customers saw this as a draw back to the system and threats to move to Netflix ensued.

As of December 20, 2007, many subscribers to their online service received emails stating that by the 27th of that month, their pricing plan would change once again. For example, the 3-at-a-time, unlimited exchange in store plan went up ten dollars to $34. 99. This practice made many subscribers threaten to or actually drop their relationship with Blockbuster completely and go to Netflix or another competitor.

At the end of 2006, Blockbuster Total Access had 2. 2 million customers, exceeding their original goal of 2 million, according to the official website. [4] After an aggressive media campaign that accounted for much of Blockbuster's $46. 4 million net loss in the first quarter of 2007, the Total Access subscriber base surpassed 3 million customers in total, marking the company's highest subscriber growth quarter ever. [5]

On January 5, 2007, Southern Stores Inc, one of Blockbuster's largest franchise operators in the United States, filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that, by introducing Blockbuster Online and Blockbuster Total Access, the rental chain has undercut the group's franchise agreement. Events 1477 - Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is killed and Burgundy becomes part of France. ^[8]

The domain blockbuster. com attracted at least 42 million visitors annually by 2008 according to a Compete.com survey. Competecom is a United States Web traffic analysis service that publishes the approximate number of U This is one-fifth of the numbers of netflix. com. ^[9]

United Kingdom

In the UK, Blockbuster has been providing a version of online rentals since October 2002 with its "Pay Per Rent" service. ^[10][11] This is more like a postal version of store rentals than the traditional online DVD rental subscription model, with per-rental prices of £3. 50-£4. 50, with a rental period of 5 nights (usually Monday-to-Friday, not including postal delivery times), and late fees (£0. 70-0. 90 per disc). ^[12]

In May 2004, Blockbuster also introduced a conventional online subscription service. The unlimited 3-disc plan is £14. 99/month. Unlike the US service, there is no in-store disk exchange.

Blockbuster's online service has continued to make headway against its more heavily promoted rival LoveFilm, earning accolades in 2006 as the best DVD rental service in an head-to-head test against other similar services by UK magazine Web User, as well as being judged as having the fastest turnaround of titles by DVD rental comparison site ChooseDVDRental. LoveFilm (official typeset LOVEFiLM) is a British DVD rental company which provides Online DVD rentals console game rental and film downloads

Brazil

Blockbuster is the largest rental store in the entire country. But the finances were not good enough due the high rental prices. Americanas the largest brazilian department store acquired half of the shares and now it's named under Americanas Express Blockbuster. The store layout is now similar to a regular american store with a Game Rush. But instead of games it offers electronics goods like computers and DVD Players, groceries like candies and microwave popcorn, and even toys from Mattel and Grow, a company that makes brazilian versions of Hasbro's board games. Mattel Inc ( is the world's largest Toy importing company based on revenue GROW is a Peer support and Mutual aid organization for recovery from and prevention of serious Mental illness. Hasbro ( is an American Toy company It is one of the largest toy makers in the world second only to the toy giant Mattel.

Movielink acquisition

On August 8, 2007, Blockbuster announced that they have reached an agreement to purchase Movielink. Events 1220 - Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Movielink is a web -based Video on demand (VOD and electronic sell-through (EST service offering movies TV shows and other videos for rental or purchase According to the 8-K filing by Blockbuster, the total purchase price was $6. 6 million. The exact terms of the agreement have yet to be disclosed, but it can be assumed that the deal will include content agreements with the major studios, thus giving Blockbuster access to one of the largest libraries of downloadable movies.

Purpose

The purpose of Blockbusters information system is to keep track of when people rent DVDs and inform them if a DVD is not returned, and to keep track of existing customers, to get information from customers by getting them to fill out forms, and advertise to find new customers, and keep records of sales.

Throttling

In 2006, Netflix (Blockbuster competitor) shareholder Rick Munarriz reported that Blockbuster Online's allocation process — termed throttling — gives customers who rent the fewest movies per month a priority in shipping and selection. Netflix ( is the largest Online DVD rental service offering Flat rate rental-by-mail and online streaming to customers in the United States Online DVD rentals allow a person to rent DVDs by Mail. Generally all interaction between the renter and the rental company takes place through the company's ^[13] The company denies the practice of throttling,^[14] which is specifically permitted under Blockbuster Online's terms of service. ^[15][16]

References

External links

• Blockbuster USA
• Blockbuster Canada
• Blockbuster UK
• Blockbuster Australia
• Blockbuster New Zealand
• Blockbuster Italy
• Blockbuster Denmark
• Blockbuster Mexico
• Blockbuster Argentina
• Blockbuster Brazil
• Blockbuster Chile
• Blockbuster Colombia
• Blockbuster Taiwan
• Blockbuster Israel

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