# @columbuslibrary on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DHioPentcPU
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/33998103-columbuslibrary-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/53d3f73eb7.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-03-23T12:00:16.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Columbus Library (@columbuslibrary) — https://gondola.cc/columbuslibrary

## Caption

Blockbuster could’ve bought Netflix, but turned it down ➡️

This photo shows the eighth Blockbuster Video location in Columbus, which opened in 1990 near Graceland Shopping Center in Clintonville. By 1991, there were 10 locations in the city.

Netflix arrived in 1997, launching their online platform the following year. The DVD format was barely a year old, but their direct-to-door service was convenient, and their catalog included nearly every disc in circulation at the time. It quickly began to impact sales.

In 2000, Blockbuster was given the chance to purchase Netflix for $50 million. Blockbuster CEO John Antioco declined, claiming their audience was too small and niche.

By 2004, Netflix was reporting profits of $49 million per year.

Blockbuster was not suffering just yet, reaching a peak of 9,094 stores in the same year. They launched an online DVD subscription program of their own, but Netflix challenged them in a patent infringement lawsuit. They settled the dispute on undisclosed terms in 2007.

With competition now fierce, Blockbuster’s stores began to close rapidly. At the start of 2010, there were 6,500 stores – at the end of the year, just 3,425. The company filed for bankruptcy.

Today, only one location remains in Bend, Oregon, outlasting final stores in Alaska, Australia and New Zealand.

This storefront at 5070 N. High St. is now home to a Nationwide Children’s Hospital Primary Care center.

#Blockbuster #Netflix #Clintonville

## Stats

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- **Likes:** 843
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- **Comments:** 14

## Tags

netflix, blockbuster, clintonville

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