Slow-moving Blockbuster can't hold the audience's attention

The DVD rentals giant has been left behind by the web, says James Doran If you stick two bricks together, they still won't float. With that in mind, it is probably a good thing that Blockbuster pulled out of its $1.3bn deal to buy American electronics retailer Circuit City last week. Now the company that once led the world in video and DVD rentals must contend with the realisation that it has become, in business terms, a brick, with all the associated buoyancy problems. It is hard to believe that, back in 2002, Blockbuster shares were trading at more than $30. Today, as the idea of a high street video rental chain becomes more of an anachronism every week, the shares are trading at just $2.67. There is a very simple reason. In the fast-paced world of entertainment media, the idea of going out to a shop to rent such a thing as... [read full story]