Sandi Harding, Manager der letzten Blockbuster-Filiale in Bend, Oregon, will seinen Laden wohl partout weiterführen und ja sich da was ausgedacht. Er hat ein Zimmer im Stil der 1990er Jahre hergerichtet, in dem man ab Mitte August der Nostalgie frönen und schön Videoabende wie damals machen kann. Danach kann man praktischer Weise auch gleich dort pennen. Zurück in die Jugend. Buchbar über Airbnb.
As the last standing location in the world, our BLOCKBUSTER store is an ode to movie magic, simpler times and the sense of community that could once be found in BLOCKBUSTER locations around the world. Over the past few months, we’ve been missing the regular visits from friends, neighbors and tourists from around the world. So, we’re opening our store to three quarantine pods of Deschutes County guests for a socially-distanced movie night, just like those of decades past!
Schon faszinierend zu sehen, wie rasant die Videoverleihbude Blockbuster in den USA bis nach die Jahrtausendwende gewachsen ist, um dann noch rasanter wieder abzubauen, was ja auch beispielhaft für die hiesigen Videotheken sein dürfte. Da denkste vielleicht gerade noch an die Weltherrschaft, weil dein Laden unermesslich zu wachsen scheint, dann kommen neue Technologien – und zack – kannste deine Bude dichtmachen.
Blockbuster opened their first store in Dallas in October of 1985. They weren’t the first video rental company, but they did have the largest selection of movie titles, over 6,500, which was more than any of their competitors at the time. Their first store was a huge success and throughout 1986, they opened three more stores in Texas.
While Blockbuster’s store concept worked really well, it wasn’t unique enough to be patentable. They knew that other companies would likely start copying their business model. To overcome this, their strategy was to grab as much market share as quickly as possible to stay ahead of any potential competitors. Throughout 1989, they purchased another four established rental chains and by 1990, they had opened over 1000 stores.
Through 2005, Blockbuster began closing their most unprofitable stores while they struggled to return to profitability. By this point, in addition to Netflix, they were also facing competition from Redbox which pretty much offered the same product as Blockbuster, just as a vending machine instead of an entire store.
In 2010, they continued downsizing and closing stores and by the end of the year, they filed for bankruptcy. Blockbuster was eventually acquired by the television provider Dish Network. Dish initially had plans to keep around 1,500 stores open and launch their own streaming service to rival Netflix, but these plans never ended up happening.
The last surviving store is located in Bend Oregon, it’s not only the last store in the US, it’s the last one left in the entire world. They’re a small owner operated store which is supported by loyal local customers as well as tourists stopping by to experience the nostalgia of visiting a Blockbuster store.
Ich weiß gar nicht, wann genau ich das letzte mal in einer Videothek war, um mir eine DVD auszuleihen. In dem Laden, in dem unsere einst war, hat sich mittlerweile schon der dritte Nachmieter eingenistet, von Videotheken gibt es in dieser Stadt keine Spuren mehr. Ich bin da nicht sonderlich nostalgisch und vermisse sie auch nicht wirklich, aber ich habe auch nie darüber nachgedacht, dass Videotheken in anderen Landstrichen eine andere Priorität haben könnten. So wie in Alaska, wo der DSL-Ausbau wohl ebenso dünn wie die Verbreitung von Mobilen Daten zu sein scheint. Also noch schlimmer als hier!
In den USA gibt es noch 10 Blockbuster Video Filialen, sechs davon stehen in Alaska, wo sie halt immer noch ein Thema sind. Vice ist mal hingefahren und hat gefragt, warum dem dort so ist. Wie eine Reise in eine längst vergangene Zeit. Internet killed the video star.
For many Alaskans streaming online is not a good option, so movie night means Blockbuster night. While the vast majority of Blockbusters in the U.S. have closed down, there are few still hanging on. Today, there are only 10 left in the entire country, and six of those are in Alaska. But the dark, long winters and sparse layout of Alaska allows Blockbusters to do pretty well, especially when Wifi is substantially more expensive than in other states.
VICE News speaks with loyal customers at one of the last Blockbusters in the U.S. about why they love their old school movie night.
