Dish Network's Blockbuster bid gets approval from bankruptcy judge

Dish Network's $320 million offer for fading movie rental chain Blockbuster Inc. was given the thumbs up by a U.S. bankruptcy judge.

The approval starts a new chapter for Blockbuster, once a giant in the entertainment industry with its huge chain of stores around the nation, which fell into dire straits with the growth of Netflix and Red Box.

Dish Network, a satellite broadcaster with 14 million subscribers, has not said much about its plans for Blockbuster. Dish, like other pay-TV distributors, is also facing intense competition from new delivery platforms.

On Wednesday, Dish executive vice president Tom Cullen said, "With its more than 1,700 store locations, a highly recognizable brand and multiple methods of delivery, Blockbuster will complement our existing video offerings while presenting cross-marketing and service extension opportunities for Dish Network."

Dish beat out several rival bids, including one from investor Carl Icahn.

-- Joe Flint

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Comments

[Nomo Blockbuster]

Tom Cullen sounds an awful lot like Blockbuster CEO James Keyes. Both think that 'multiple channels' and 'cross-marketing' are the way to go. The reality though is that this approach doesn't define an individual focus and resources do not get allocated efficiently so the plan turns out ineffective as was the case with Blockbuster. Delusional Dish ought to learn from Blockbuster's mistakes and close all of Blockbuster stores in order to turn them into Dish Network stores. Blockbuster Online is a joke compared to Netflix so Delusional Dish will never get the upper hand there. Finally, Blockbuster Express kiosks are Redboxes painted blue so Redbox will dominate in that industry. It seems that Delusional Dish didn't think things all the way through and just wasted hundreds of millions of dollars preserving a brand that nobody values anymore. Good work, Delusional Dish!