1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Blockbuster to close remaining stores

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by NoOneLikesUs, Nov 6, 2013.

  1. NDJournalist

    NDJournalist Active Member

    Blockbuster and other video stores fucked up by not carrying porn. Like it or not, it would've made them big money.
     
  2. Bob Cook

    Bob Cook Active Member

    It's amazing how much Blockbuster relied on late fees and other forms of negative customer service to make money.

    http://www.nbcnews.com/id/39332696/#.UnwJQ3A3tAo

    In 2000 Blockbuster collected nearly $800 million in late fees, accounting for 16 percent of its revenue. Last year, those late fees had plunged to $134 million, or just 3 percent of the company's revenue.

    Same story says there were 9,100 Blockbusters at their peak in 2004.

    On top of late fee revenue, I wonder how much money Blockbuster made from people renting some other video because the hot new movie everyone wanted was out.
     
  3. Moderator1

    Moderator1 Moderator Staff Member

    Many of them did, I'm told. Then this thing called the Internet advanced and you could get the porn right into your home without having a clerk ring you up, I'm told.
     
  4. Bradley Guire

    Bradley Guire Well-Known Member

    News to me. I might check it out. Thanks.
     
  5. NoOneLikesUs

    NoOneLikesUs Active Member

    Worked at a now defunct chain video store at the end of the '90s. Porn made a lot of money despite the selection being rather slim. Hell, the softcore titles scattered in with the normal tapes made a shitload.

    The most awesome/horrifying thing: the store would sell older compilation hardcore porn titles sans boxes for 99 cents near the register. So many teenagers bought these things.
     
  6. Steak Snabler

    Steak Snabler Well-Known Member

    Blockbuster had a chance to buy Netflix for $50 million in 2000:

    http://variety.com/2005/biz/news/blockbusted-1117930420/

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2014
  7. jr/shotglass

    jr/shotglass Well-Known Member

    Exactamundo. It was a thing. Not a big thing, but a thing.
     
  8. spikechiquet

    spikechiquet Well-Known Member

    I always found it funny that "Family" Video rented porn.
    The joke we always made was: "Free kids movies, but dad makes up for the price in the back."
    I seemed to remember being proud of going to the back section of the store the day I turned 18....this was about 1 year before the Internet hit it big in my town.
     
  9. apeman33

    apeman33 Well-Known Member

    The Family Video in this town does *not* have a porn selection, for whatever reason. The one in the neighboring town to the east did but it was picketed every weekend by an Amish and/or Mennonite group until it decided to stop carrying it.

    I'm not sure how FV is expanding at a time when just about all the others are gone. I think the only video places other than an FV anywhere within six counties are the Crown Video and Vintage Stock stores in Joplin (and I'm not certain Crown Video is around anymore, actually).
     
  10. PCLoadLetter

    PCLoadLetter Well-Known Member

    Amish? Were they protesting the porn, or just the use of a DVD player in general?
     
    Vombatus likes this.
  11. spikechiquet

    spikechiquet Well-Known Member

    The signs must have been amazing....weaved horse hair and charcoal.
     
  12. apeman33

    apeman33 Well-Known Member

    I'm guessing that to them, "porn" involved any video showing ankle. However, our sister paper did a story on it and they were going to keep coming until the video store got rid of it. A few months later, FV dropped that section and then carved out of piece of that building to rent out a to check-cashing store. The FV over here opened with with a check-cashing store already in place, which may be why it never had porn in the first place.

    Pittsburg's store, however, does have porn. Or so I've heard.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page