When did Blockbuster Video open and what services do its stores offer?
Blockbuster Video opened its first store on October 19, 1985 and has since grown to be the biggest chain of DVD, videotape and game-rental stores in North America. In addition to stores in the US and Canada, Blockbuster has stores in many countries, including Australia, the UK and Taiwan. Statistics produced by Viacom in 2003 reported that Blockbuster had 4,971 US locations, and a US membership of over 43 million households, as well as 2,405 international locations. Until 1994, Blockbuster was owned by Wayne Huizenga, an entrepreneur with a reputation for building companies into multi-billion dollar enterprises. Huizenga sold the company to media conglomerate Viacom, who ran it until October 2004, after which Blockbuster continued to run independently.
