500 More Blockbuster Stores Down The Crapper

Having finished lopping off all of its extremities, the honchos currently in charge of dying movie rental chain Blockbuster Video have started hacking at the torso. Here is Reuters with the details:

Dish Network will close 500 underperforming and unprofitable Blockbuster video stores in the coming weeks, accounting for about a third of its stores.

The announcement came as the company announced its fourth quarter profits increased 24 percent to $313 million in the fourth quarter. It reversed subscriber losses to pick up a net 22,000 subscribers thanks in part to its new Blockbuster-branded services. It acquired Blockbuster last year.

The closures will occur in the first quarter of this year, the company said. The company will try to expand its Dish Services offerings in remaining stores. It currently sells Dish Network sales in about 150 stores.

Oh well, no big deal. Yawn (scratches self, reaches for the remote). Just another few thousand people out of work. What time is American Idol on, anyway?


Bonus: Ahhh...video store memories from the very dawn of the Internet age