[Image from Flickr.]
This is still in the unverified reports stage–but, should it indeed come to fruition, it certainly wouldn’t be too much of a surprise. According to The Los Angeles Times, Blockuster recently held a number of meetings with all six major movie studios, to discuss its plans to file for bankruptcy.
The filing is apparently set for the middle of next month. Blockbuster will file Chapter 11, to help shed its $1 billion debt and leases for more than 500 stores–about one-seventh of its total U.S. locations.
Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes reportedly flew out to L.A. from Dallas for the meetings, joined by a number of “restructuring consultants.” They asked the big six–Fox, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Disney, and Warner Bros–for their support (in the form of rentable DVDs).
Blockbuster’s woes, of course, can largely be traced back to increased competition from the likes of Netflix and Redbox, whose new rental models have largely left Blockbuster behind. The company has attempted to reinvent itself by adopting similar methods–DVD mailers, online streaming, and off-site kiosks–while continuing to slip into debt.
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