CES 2012: Dish Network To Shutter More Blockbusters Than Expected

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Interesting news on the closing day of CES 2012 for those of you out there with Blockbuster Online memberships; seems that Dish Network, who recently bought out Blockbuster and integrated it into its stable of offerings, is planning to close more brick and mortar Blockbuster locations than originally anticipated.

Basically, Dish is going through the various remaining Blockbuster locations and, if they’re failing to turn a profit, shuttering them. Some of them will be turned into Dish customer service outlets, but more of them will be plain old sealed up. Oddly, there’s some word that Dish may well be planning to close profitable stores to boot, considering the quote that emerged from Dish’s chairman in the midst of the closings:

“We will close unprofitable stores. We will close additional stores.”

I understand the first line. But the second line is what catches my eye. Will they be closing “additional stores” in the sense that they’ll be closing stores over what they planned to? If so, that would make sense, but seems redundant in light of the first part. But if they’re planning to close additional stores above and beyond “unprofitable stores”, that makes even less sense. Why close stores that turn a profit?

Either way, this poses a serious problem, especially for those considering dumping Netflix in light of Blockbuster Online. One of the primary selling points of the Blockbuster Online system was that they had the option to make trades in brick and mortar store locations, so with that option now about to be removed for many people, keeping your Blockbuster Online subscription looks less and less like a good idea, a move that will no doubt prove a problem for Dish Network. However, considering that it’s only poor-performing stores closing anyway, then there may not be much of a loss, especially with the streaming options available. Still though, for the currently undecided or those in the Netflix camp, Dish may well have lost a prime selling point.

So what do you guys think about this one? Anyone got Blockbusters closing out your way? Or are your Blockbuster stores staying open through the newest round of closings? No matter what the story is for you, head on down to the comments section and fill us in!