Blockbuster blew $8 billion. We’re still paying for it
From How We Got Here with Chris Kohler by Kohler Media
May 4, 2026 · 1h 1m · Season 1 · Episode 2
About this episode
The episode discusses the corporate failures of Blockbuster and its impact on the shift from one-off payments to subscription models.
A complete corporate disaster. Blockbuster stuffed up so badly that the world started walking down a path away from one-off payments and towards subscriptions. And the best part is, Blockbuster's demise was baked in from the start. It just grew so fast the problems were hard to see... for a few years. 0:00 Intro 9:10 The VCR 19:09 The War 24:42 Hello Rental Industry 28:15 Welcome To BlockBuster 36:00 Huizenga 40:27 Viacom Era 44:51 Injured By DVD 48:59 Enter The Wolf 50:43 The Collapse Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Topics covered
- corporate disaster
- Blockbuster
- subscription model
- rental industry
- business history
Keywords
- Blockbuster
- corporate disaster
- subscription model
- VCR
- DVD
- business history
- rental industry
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Blockbuster, Viacom
Products: VCR, DVD
Places: Rental Industry
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