The Rise & Fall of Blockbuster: They Laughed at Netflix

Blockbuster was once a giant in home entertainment, with thousands of stores and billions in revenue. But behind its success was a story of missed opportunities, failed innovation, and one crucial meeting that could’ve changed everything. This video dives into the dramatic rise and fall of Blockbuster—from dominating Friday nights to being outpaced by Netflix and forgotten by the digital age. Discover what really happened to the video rental empire.

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Chapters:

0:00 – Blockbuster’s golden era
0:40 – What made Blockbuster special
1:30 – The early days of video rentals
2:20 – The birth of Blockbuster
3:00 – Smart innovations and rapid growth
4:20 – Global expansion and big profits
5:40 – Late fees and growing frustration
6:50 – The Netflix origin story
8:00 – Netflix vs. Blockbuster begins
9:30 – The failed $50M Netflix deal
11:00 – Blockbuster tries to fight back
12:30 – Total Access and costly mistakes
14:00 – Boardroom battles and CEO shakeups
15:20 – Losing ground to Netflix
16:40 – Bad leadership and wrong turns
18:00 – The fall and final store
19:30 – What Blockbuster could’ve been

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#Blockbuster #NetflixVsBlockbuster #BusinessFailure #RiseAndFall #entrepreneurshipquote

[AnthonyMiyazaki]

A story that younger generations need to learn and understand. It wasn't a matter of "Blockbuster didn't embrace digital" as much as Blockbuster didn't understand the market and then practice necessary agile marketing. The question now.... which current companies are going to be driven into bankruptcy because they're not attuned to what customers want and the market demands???

[gksmith]

I was glad to have played a part in this. They did a great job! - Gordon Smith, "THE 11TH EMPLOYEE OF BLOCKBUSTER."

[suzannemouelle]

Congrats Grant & Team for this great & thought-provoking pilot episode/content; Enjoyed it ! keep it coming...

[laradalian]

Takes me back! Couldn’t stop watching.

[FlavioMuggianu]

awesome pilot episode, looking forward to the next one! Very well done!

[davidricardomedia]

Wow great content! Thanks for sharing this! So interesting!!!

[MusicRowVoice]

Great flick. This is going to be a good series. Informative and eye opening. Spent my childhood at Blockbuster. It helped me develop my later career in the arts. Amazing to learn all this behind the scenes.

[StephenStofflet]

Great program! One note: when they initially opened, it was BLOCKBUSTER VIDEOS. (I'm in the picture with Gordon and Debbie Reynolds). Former Specialty buyer for Blockbuster in the beginning.

[TheMakeMoreMoneyPodcast]

Cant wait to watch this. And have you on the podcast one day

[abelucas]

I feel NO SYMPATHY for customers returning the movies or what not late..It's they're own fault they were charged those late fees. Can you blame Blockbuster Video? Absolutely not!!! Customers needed to be responsible. A lot of them were not. For every day, that movie or those movies were not returned or not on the shelves for other customers to rent them, Blockbuster was losing money. Blockbuster had NO choice but to charge those customers late fees to make up for the losses. 😢 Trust me, Blockbuster had a LOT of overhead, so they NEEDED to be profitable. No one is in business to lose money but make money. More money. Constantly on a regular basis. Thus, this is the REAL reason why Blockbuster Video went out of business because of customers' irresponsibility. Not because they didn't keep up with changing times, changing technology, or not taking Netflix or RedBox seriously, or not adapting, etc. I know, I was there from the 80's throughout the 90's and 00's. A business MUST be lucrative.

[codysmith]

10X team, AWESOME! I'll be waiting for the future episodes.

[tonyvenegas]

Good pilot, very much in the style of short Netflix documentaries. What happened to Blockbuster and other Goliath-like Sears, Kodak, Nokia, Xerox, Blackberry, MySpace, Pan Am, etc, etc will continue to happen even at a faster rate. In today’s fast-changing world, companies that fail to innovate or adapt risk significant disruption as emerging and converging technologies reshape our world. Think about all the breakthroughs in AI, Robotics, blockchain, IoT, and renewable energy are accelerating at an unprecedented pace, creating new opportunities for agile businesses while rendering outdated models obsolete. Those slow to pivot or hesitant to invest in forward-thinking strategies will struggle to compete with leaner, more innovative players who embrace change as a catalyst for growth. The lesson is clear: adaptability is no longer optional; it’s survival. Adapt or die. Furthermore, in the next 10 years, we'll see the first batch of trillionaires and billion-dollar companies started and run by single individuals with a handful of employees. Embrace what's already here and what's coming.

[ThetaMediaGroup]

Great pilot episode. Makes a strong point. Related: IBM went to Bill Gates to have his startup company Microsoft create the operating system for IBM's new personal computer. Bill sent IBM to DEC as they already had CP/M as a robust OS. DEC's CEO was not available at that time and his wife wouldn't sign the non-disclosure agreement. So IBM went back to Microsoft, who purchased the first version of DOS from a Seattle-based software firm. The rest is history...

[wsMFB]

Nice move, interested to see where this goes. Got your fingers into different pies.

[ALLINFAMILIA]

I guess all u can say is that "who's laughing now"

[JUACee]

😢next independent gaming Arcade's

[aocortez-Gold]

Learn from History to become the best you can Be!!!

[LoganSmith-bn]

I will be forever thankful to Mrs. (Scarlett Morrison) for her amazing performance and dedication, she is just too good at trading, and she has proven to me her skills in trading. Thanks very much, Mrs (Scarlett Morrison

[mustafadanishmand]

10X team, AWESOME! I'll be waiting for the future episodes