Isn't if funny how things seem to foreshadow themselves in real life as they do in movies?
It seems like just yesterday we were sitting in class talking about Movie Gallery's chances of survival... Oh, crap, it was just yesterday!
Well, today it was announced that the movie-rental giant will be closing its doors, all 2,415 of them, in the US. That means about 15,000 jobs lost as well as the end of an era for those of us that still have the fond memories of jumping in the van on a Tuesday afternoon to check out the newest releases at the video store hoping we got there in time to get a copy.
So there you have it. Movie Gallery is out, Block Buster will give serious consideration to even the darkest type of voodoo to save their own hide, and YouTube is now renting movies, and nobody cares.
COMMENT
Bedolla out!
4 comments:
"Meanwhile, over on the Internet, YouTube launched a movie rental service, and no one seems to have noticed." This was interesting to me from the article you chose, because I hadn't noticed either. Maybe we talked about it or something similiar to it in class once.EITHER WAY, we should have known that YouTube would be on top of things. (whether successful or not later on) The internet is instant. We are the generation of "gimme now" and we will do whatever it takes to make our lives easier. Even REDBOX becomes out of the way sometimes. One last point, Blockbuster now has a Redbox type of machine. It's the EXACT same...one dollar a night movies, that come out of a vending machine and paid by card. Movie Gallery didn't want to hop on board with "the vending machine rental box" ?? I don't even think those will last long.
"At the end of last year, there were 14,000 U.S. video rental stores, down from a peak of 26,000 in 2002, according to Adams Media Research. In addition to some regional chains that include Lubbock-based Hastings Entertainment and Illinois-based Family Video, there are still strong independent one-store operators in business.
Dallas' Premiere Video on East Mockingbird Lane was founded in 1984 and remains profitable as a single location, said Heather Hankamer, managing partner. It fills niches for a "very loyal customer base" with foreign and independent films, classics, documentaries and BBC murder mysteries, she said.
"The smartest thing we did was not try to compete with the big chains on new-release copy depth and instead beat them on depth of selection," Hankamer said. "Still, it's sad and not good for the industry to see Movie Gallery close its stores."
http://bit.ly/bZ8nVR
i hate to see Movie Gallery throw in the towel. It feels, to me, like losing a piece of my childhood while also losing a bit of that "hometown feel." this is probably a close minded statement, but does everything have to be digital to survive nowadays? everything? I understand times are changing and digital shelf space is limitless, but i suppose no one cares about personal interaction anymore. like Danielle said, its all "gimme now!"
With no Blockbuster, movie gallery of Hollywood Video, Florence will be forced to Redbox and Netflix. Not that i haven't used both and been satisfied with my purchases, but i like to have options; i know many others feel the same.
To me, this closing is only the beginning. Goodbye personal interaction. Goodbye communication. Hello digital world.
To add to both comments, what the heck do the rural population do when they want to see a movie, but don't want to wait 3 days for Netflix to mail it to them and don't have sufficient Internet bandwidth in their area for streaming it. Most mom and pop video stores are on their way out as well. Where will uncle Joe get his new films on VHS now?
VH-what? VHS? Is that like a new channel from the MTV network?
Post a Comment