Blockbuster files for bankruptcy in Portugal, blames internet piracy
By Thomas Ricker 
posted February 10th 2010 7:44AM
posted February 10th 2010 7:44AM
Update: There were once 27 Blockbuster stores in Portugal, not 100. The 100 number from the machine translation is the approximate number of employees at risk of losing their jobs.
[Thanks, Alex P. and Eric L.]
Well other similar companies seem to be doing just fine. Blockbuster have failed to move with the times. It is the company execs that have failed, not the government!
Oh I get it. Everyone in Portugal plays futbol, even in the parking lot of a Blockbuster.
Nice.
@Smart People Play Tuba lol that guy is from Portugal national team hes training on BB parking lot xD
@Smart People Play Tuba I know it's a stretch but my Photochop is actually relevent. That's Deco who announced last week that he's quitting the national Portugal team after the World Cup.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/8498817.stm
Ha, get it!? Sigh.
@Thomas Ricker
you should of made him about 20ft tall! tbh i don't think most americans will know who he is.
@nabberuk Engadget is not for Americans only, you know? I, for instance, am portuguese and know two things:
- who Deco is
- that "could of", like "should of", does not exist in YOUR language.
Just sayin'
@max1c i'm amazed that he isn't playing inside Blockbuster :D
DECO ALEZZZ :D
@nabberuk
Dang, brother, you just got schooled in your native language by a non-native speaker.
@ Ricker
Zing. Sorry, that went right over my head. Still funny though.
@Ricker
Hey, I didn't want you to change the pic! I was just poking fun. I guess next time I'll put a :) or a JK LOL or something.
@Smart People Play Tuba
Actually i didnt, just because my username mentions UK doesnt mean my native language is english.
@fsx
also because i said most americans wouldnt know who deco was, you jump to the conclusion that i think only americans visit this site.
There's alot of people on this site that jump to conclusions in the effort to look smart.
@nabberuk
Well, Blockbuster took out all the local Mom and Pop rental stores when it came through ... and so karma's a bitch.
Did Blockbuster really believe that we'd be renting movies from actual brick and mortar stores forever?
@fsX Portugal +1
Damn you pirates! I love driving down to the the dvd shop, finding the one i want (if they actually carry it), waiting in line to pay, then driving all the way back, thus wasting half an hour easily just to start watching a movie.
I mean who wants digital distribution or on demand streaming?
It's all the pirates fault! The pirates, i tell you!
@Ch3m1kal
Well I have no idea what the market is like in Portugal, or what Netflix-like services are offered there, but I'm sure piracy is at least a part of what's driving them out of business. People feel very entitled to media content these days. Not sure why.
@Ch3m1kal
Exactly, i've not been to ANY DVD rental place fo years. Despite movie streaming in the UK still being very limited Sky streams films to Media center very nicely for me and saves money (spent on film beer!) and time traveling.
DVD rental is going to die, not because of Piracy but because it's an old model that doesnt work anymore. If Blockbuster want to survive they need a good on-line distribution model.
@Ch3m1kal
The last time i rented a movie it was on VHS a very very long time ago. Then the digital age came.
I don't even know how DVD rental shops can even exist, there wasn't that much time between the end of VHS and the beginning of broadband internet.
@Jimbob
I would not say it is that limited in the UK. I have virgin media and have a huge choice of films to stream plus I have the film downloads available on my 360 too. I have not been to a blockbuster since we got Virgin Media.
@coolblue2000
I would say that it is poretty limited, yes there is Virgin if you live in the small area of the country that has it. We have loads of TV on demand services availible to all . iPlayer, ITV, 4 On-demand etc but little in the way of on-line film services
@Jimbob "streams films to Media center very nicely for me and saves money (spent on film beer!) and time traveling."
For a minute I thought you said you saved money (spent on film beer and time traveling), and I thought that was cool. Drunk, in 4-D!
@Ch3m1kal
until internet gets cheaper in australia, im taking your comment literally
@Ch3m1kal
I rarely rent movies. And if I do, it's from those little red vending machines for a dollar. Blockbuster is insane for charging $5 to rent a movie. That's what's killing them.
Oh, and I have Netflix. I can wait a day or two for a new release... I'm not in that big a hurry to rent some crappy movie anyway.
@Unverified User
well back then majority Internet users are still on dial-up only a few on the then new DSL connection.
Even with a DSL extra speed it still would have taken forever to download a DVD level movie.
Back when I was on ADSL a YouTube took twice as long to download than to watch so.
So if a low quality YouTube took that long then a high quality movie would require a good part of a day to download so a quick DVD rental purchase is way more attractive option than a slow download
Even with today's cable just like DSL in the past it's only a minority of Internet users with the rest only just catching up with DSL.
DVD still going to be around for a few years & blu-Ray is going to be around for many years as the minority constantly catching up.
I blame piracy for my dry scalp
@unknown159
I blame piracy for my excessive debt, it's hard to afford a new TB drive every week.
@unknown159
If the Somalian government does not take action soon, we shall all wallow and weep with dandruff in our eyes...
@unknown159
I blame pirates for selling me cheaper software, I mean who wouldn't wanna pay more for over priced Microsoft software?
Better call the waaaambulance.
Anyone up for a little parking lot soccer?
It feels good to see this news. It will feel better to finally see blockbuster succumb completely, they've been for the most part a pretty ***kheaded company ever since I was a kid.
Shiver me timbers.. this goes further, I also blame those cell phone thingamajigs and the "internet" for the decline in land lines sales.
@Darth Lord
Don't forget to blame motorized carriages for the drop in horse-and-buggy sales.
So they don't have on-demand movies via satellite or cable in Portugal then I take it? That's why I've not been to blockbuster in the last few years.
@Malcolm we do.
@fsX Yeah - I did rather assume that was the case. Would be quite interesting to see recent financials of a movies-on-demand supplier to see if they are also blaming piracy or, as I suspect, doing just fine!
Blockbuster didn't lose my business due to piracy, it was due to their prices among other things.
With Hulu, Redbox, Netflix and an abundance of free podcasts surrounding my interests I simply didn't need or want to deal with Blockbuster.
I feel bad for the employees, it will be all of them soon enough, but I can't say I'm going to miss you Blockbuster. Laterz....
@jimlovell777
...We don't get Hulu and Netflix on this side of the pond. Legally that is...
So I guess their national soccer team is also doing if they are forced to play in parking lots. Poor Christiano, going to Q_Q more
I'm from Portugal, and from where I stand, there is no future for digital hard copy for the obvious reasons. I have a video club right in front of my house, the rentals are 3€ for a new release and double if you forget to return it, if you go to the cinema it will cost 4€, and if you want to see a movie on-demand it will cost 3/3,5€ so do the math. I never go get rentals, just don't want to wast 30min of my life to get one and return it again, it takes me less time to drive to the cinema and buy popcorn.
@johnjohn
30mins to get to front of your house?
@CaptOgg
No, 2 min to get from my house to the store, 5 min to find a movie, they only keep max two copies of new releases, 5 min to find somthing else probably call the wife because the movie we wanted to see isn't in , 10 min in line to pay because of the Nobs on the PC's, then 2 min to get back home. And the best part no HDef, just standard DVD and some with just 5.1 Dolby no DTS.
@johnjohn
I'm also a Portuguese but I'm living in Spain (Granada) and here I can rental a movie by 1 euro... And that cheaper/easier than downloading a movie (the right movie not the fake), finding the right subtitles etc. etc.
It's that cursed internet I tell you! We need to put a stop to it. Oh wait the telecoms in the U.S are already on it.....
Support net neutrality! Save our interwebs!
Get Cablevision instead of Verizon?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWt0XUocViE
My internet connection can't support streaming of video but Red Box is right around the corner...I haven't been to a Block Buster in years and all of them in my area have long since died and gone to video rental history...
We always play football in front of Blockbuster...so their main issue was those broken windows. Thats why they filed bankruptcy.
I'm from Portugal and besides BlueRay I see no other reason to go to a store like Blockbuster. We have Video on Demand trough all the major TV Providers...it's cheaper and more convenient.
needed to change your business model, you didn't saw it coming, you die
free market baby!
If your wifes cheats on you, blame the Internet.
If your dog bites you, blame the Internet.
If the whole economy blow-up blame the Internet.
If you have an erectile dysfunction, go on-line to by Viagra and them blame the Internet.
If you don't know how to manage your own company, well, blame the Internet anyway, at least you can say you are not responsible for your failure. That's annoying.
@Bruno Kussler
If you get fat, blame spoons
If you can't spel, blame your pencil.
Ha, blame your obsolete business model Block Buster!
My friends and I were just talking, a couple nights ago, about how you could get Netflix for a month for less than the price of 3 movies at Blockbuster. I don't know why they are talking about piracy... if they are smart they will dump every remaining cent they have into their online service immediately. Probably already too late for them though.
I blame piracy for the decline of the American dream.