Dish to shutter more Blockbuster stores, turn some outlets into satellite TV service centers

After committing to keeping about 90 percent of Blockbuster movie rental stores open, new owner Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH) says it plans to close additional outlets.

"We are committed to keeping the profitable stores open that are generating positive cash flow, but there are ones that aren't going to make it," Dish CEO Joe Clayton told Reuters. "We will close unprofitable stores. We will close additional stores," he added.

Dish, which picked up about 1,500 Blockbuster stores through its $228 million acquisition of Blockbuster last year, plans to use the remaining stores as service centers for its satellite TV programming packages and new products such as its Hopper multiroom DVR. Clayton said at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this week that Dish was drawn to Blockbuster's family friendly brand.

The company is using Blockbuster to market streaming video and DVD rentals to its satellite customers. Its presence at local Blockbuster outlets could also help Dish compete with rival DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV).

For more:
- FierceIPTV has this story

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