Dish Network to Close All But 600 Blockbuster Stores

After successfully winning the auction to buy Blockbuster Inc. for $320.6 million on April 6, Dish Network submitted a plan to bankruptcy court on Saturday that will close over 1,000 of the video rental chain’s brick-and-mortar stores.

The list, first reported by the Dallas Morning News, details approximately 600 locations nationwide including just two remaining in the city of Dallas where Blockbuster’s corporate headquarters are currently located (though there will be three left in the neighboring city of Fort Worth). Blockbuster is operating roughly 1,700 stores at the moment, down over half from September 2010 when the companyfiled for Chapter 11. Blockbuster shuttered around 1,000 locations in 2009 amid stiff competition from progressive rental powerhouse Netflix and nimble kiosk company Redbox.

The acquisition by Dish, the third largest pay-TV provider, has experts scratching their heads over how the Englewood, Colorado company plans to leverage its new old-school brand. Dish has said it will use the remaining Blockbuster stores as opportunities to sign up new subscribers for its television service— essentially a“video stores are disappearing, buy our movie channels instead” approach— while others expect Dish to somehow integrate Blockbuster’s Internet streaming service, though its deals with Hollywood studios may not be renewed.

After the deal closes (they are targetting an April 25 completion), Dish is expected to pay $228 million in cash after adjustments, which is only about 10% of the corporation’s cash on hand, according to market watcherFool.com. Dish won the auction over billionaire investor Carl Icahn and other liquidators.

In my hometown of Austin, Blockbuster locations will only remain open on E. Riverside Drive and, appropriately, on Slaughter Ln.

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