The first ever Blockbuster was built in 1985 in Dallas, Texas. They became a hit very quickly; in just 1992 they had over 2,800 stores in the US. These stores were revolutionary at the time; people could go out with their families and select a movie to later watch that night or whenever, keeping in mind late fees of course. People loved this idea, they loved getting to physically see all of their options and read the descriptions on the backs and getting to choose which ones peaked their interest the most. Well, in 1994 Viacom bought Blockbuster for $8.4 billion, which shows how much this business was booming. I guess it was lucky for Blockbuster's original owner to sell his company then, because in 1997 Netflix is founded by Reed Hastings after being enraged at his $40 Blockbuster late fees for 'Apollo 13'. In 2000, Blockbuster turned down the chance to buy out Netflix for $50 million, which now we can all say was a pretty dumb move. Blockbuster didn't think so for a while because in 2004, Blockbuster is at it's peak with over 9000 stores globally. Well in just six short years, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in 2010. Now Dish Network owns Blockbuster and they have sold mostly all of their remaining stores, or turned them into mobile phone stores. Not just Netflix, but also Redbox and other movie renting services have changed the way people view movies and television shows today. Now, you don't even have to get off your couch to rent a movie; all you have to do is move your thumb on the remote to select the movie you want to watch. I also think that Netflix has revolutionized the way people watch tv as well. Tv started where if you wanted to watch your favorite show, you would have to make sure you were sitting down, and tuned into the channel at the exact time or else you would miss it. Then there came DVR, which allows you to record your show before hand, so that you didn't have to be watching at exactly that time, you could watch it at your convenience. Now with Netflix, the term "binge watch" has become a regular thing. Since Netflix updates their shows by season, people use this term when they sit down and watch an entire season, or maybe even more, in one sitting; with Netflix this is very possible and is done on a daily basis. Not going to lie, I've done this quite a few times. In the article by the Chicago Tribune, they claim that many people have been severing tides with cable companies and solely having Netflix or other online streaming cites. I don't think that it's time to do that just yet, Netflix isn't nearly ready for that; they're selection is just not big enough to compete with cable tv, not yet at least.
King, Ritchie. "These Are Blockbuster’s Last Remaining Stores in the
US, before They All Close." Quartz. N.p., 7 Nov. 2013. Web. 14 Feb.
2015.
Phillips, Matt, and Roberto A. Ferdman. "A Brief, Illustrated History of
Blockbuster, Which Is Closing the Last of Its US Stores." Quartz. N.p., 7
Nov. 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2015.
King, Ritchie. "These Are Blockbuster’s Last Remaining Stores in the
US, before They All Close." Quartz. N.p., 7 Nov. 2013. Web. 14 Feb.
2015.
Phillips, Matt, and Roberto A. Ferdman. "A Brief, Illustrated History of
Blockbuster, Which Is Closing the Last of Its US Stores." Quartz. N.p., 7
Nov. 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2015.
Gwinn, Eric, and Tribune Newspapers. "Netflix." Chicago Tribune. N.p., 21
Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Feb. 2015.
<http://articles.chicagotribune.com/keyword/netflix>.
--Marissa