Dish to close Blockuster stores and stop selling discs

Blockbuster stores, once a common fixture in most towns, will soon be a thing of the past, as Dish Network says it will close all of the chain's remaining 300 outlets. The satellite TV company, which bought Blockbuster out of bankruptcy in 2011, also says it will kill off its DVD-by-mail business in January.

Although the number of Blockbuster physical outlets has been steadily shrinking, the decision to shutter its DVD and Blu-ray business means there will be fewer choices for those—like me—who still prefer the better picture and sound quality of Blu-ray discs. In addition to any remaining independent video stores—which, ironically, Blockbuster helped to kill off—the main choices for customers looking to rent discs are Netflix, which supplies discs by mail, and Redbox, which rents discs via kiosks. Both companies also offer streaming video services.

Dish says it will continue to use the Blockbuster brand on the two streaming video services it offers, Blockbuster@Home and Blockbuster On Demand. Blockbuster@Home is a streaming service offered to Dish's satellite TV customers, while Blockbuster On Demand is a streaming service offered via other devices, such as TVs, Blu-ray players, streaming media players, tablets, and smart phones.

The big questions for those of us who enjoy renting Blu-ray discs is how long Netflix will remain committed to physical discs. The company made an ill-advised attempt to spin off the disc-rental business into a separate entity a few years ago—remember Qwikster?—before opting to just charge separately for disc rentals and video streaming. That sent a message to many of us that the company may not really want to stay in the disc-rental business. Those of us who still enjoy physical discs are hoping that decision isn't imminent.

—James K. Willcox