Jan 22, 2013 10:15 AM EST
Blockbuster Closing 300 Stores In U.S., 3,000 People Out Of A Job?

Blockbuster has announced that they will be closing 300 more U.S. stores within the next few weeks, essentially signaling the end of what was once the most popular place to rent a movie.

The closings also mean approximately 3,000 people are now out of a job according to the Los Angeles Times. Only 500 stores now remain in the U.S.

"There have been store closures" in the past, Dish Network Spokesman John Hall said to The Denver Post. "Really, from the time of acquisition there has been a strategy to evaluate stores on a case-by-case basis in an effort to look at their production."

The news comes just a week after Blockbuster's British company entered into administration, the British version of bankruptcy, and announced they'd be closing approximately 160 stores according to an administrator, accounting and consulting firm Deloitte.

Dish acquired Blockbuster and around 1,700 stores in a 2011 bankruptcy sale in hopes of using the company's brand name and online streaming services to go up against other companies like Redbox and Netflix.

The company also had hoped to use Blockbuster to market its satellite service, but it never really seemed to catch on as they'd hoped.

Some stores will be closed because they're simply reaching the end of their lease, while others will close due to poor performance according to Hall.

Dish has yet to reveal which stores will be closed.

"We continue to see value in the Blockbuster brand and we will continue to analyze store level profitability and, as we have in the past, close unprofitable stores," Hall said to the Los Angeles Times.

Dish lost 19,000 subscribers and reported 158 million in red ink for the third quarter according to the Los Angeles Times. Fourth quarter numbers have yet to be released, but Hall doesn't have a good feeling they got any better.

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