On May 20, Blockbuster, the last local walk-in movie rental service in Starkville, closed down. This action apparently follows on the heels of the Movie Gallery chain that recently closed across the country.
With the popularity of streaming movies online and rental services such as Netflix and Redbox, it was only a matter of time before the chains were forced to close.
Pete Smith, associate professor of communication at Mississippi State University, said there are a number of reasons why these chains closed.
“A couple of years ago, Blockbuster announced that they were in trouble,” Smith said. “First it was Netflix, but the final blow came from Redbox. Blockbuster and Movie Gallery attempted to save themselves by shedding some of their franchises.”
According to Smith, the largest factors that give Blockbuster’s competition the edge are the convenience, mobility and cheaper prices that are offered.
“Both Netflix and Redbox undercut Blockbuster’s prices and service. Redbox is strategically placed where people congregate. At the exit of Walmart, for instance, it’s right there. With Netflix, you can rent a movie without leaving your home,” Smith said.
“Another reason for the death of Blockbuster is that cable services, like Comcast or Metrocast, now offer their own Pay-Per-View movie services. Blockbuster, a couple of years ago, started offering a similar service to consumers with DVRs, but they waited too late to counter what the local cable company was doing.”
 ”I think we’ve seen the death of Hollywood Video, Movie Gallery and Blockbuster Video. Blockbuster is gone. Movie Gallery took a large hit, too,” Smith said.
If Smith had to guess, he said, the majority of his students choose Redbox because it is cheap or Netflix because it is convenient.
A poll of the students in Colvard Student Union suggests there may be a consensus between many of the students.  Out of 20 students, 10 have Netflix accounts and eight use Redbox while two do not rent.
“Netflix is more portable so I use it with a laptop, but if I want to watch it on a TV I use Redbox,” one student said. Another student said he uses Netflix to watch classics, but rents from Redbox.
“Netflix has the widest selection, but no new releases,” he said.
For now, Blockbuster business still runs online, boasting the newest movies and now provides rent by mail.