Blockbuster closing 300 more stores

Dish Network Corp. will shut down another 300 Blockbuster stores in the coming weeks, Dish spokesman John Hall told the Denver Post on Monday.

Though the closures won't affect many movie-renters, as they will be closing the under-performing stores, as many as 3,000 employees will lose their jobs.

"There have been store closures" in the past, Hall told Post. "Really, from the time of acquisition there has been a strategy to evaluate stores on a case-by-case basis in an effort to look at their production."

But even with their selective evaluation system Dish closed an estimated 500 Blockbusters stores last year.

Despite the cuts, Dish "continues to see value in the Blockbuster brand, and we continue to analyze the store-level profitability as we have in the past," Hall told the Post.

Dish acquired the video-rental chain for $320 million in 2011, after the company went Bankrupt as it was unable to compete with digitally driven companies such as Red Box, and Netflix. Ever since, the TV provider has been trying to find ways to keep Blockbuster afloat.

One of their plans is to relocate Blockbuster's headquarters from Texas to Douglas county, a move that is expected to create 150 management jobs in the metro area, and for which Dish received $2.5 million in Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits from the Colorado Economic Development Commission in 2012, the Denver Post reported.

Dish has yet to announce the Blockbuster locations they'll be shutting down, but the 3,000 employes affected by the cuts were informed Friday.