Viacom plans to spin off Blockbuster

[dArKeR]

Viacom Inc. announced Tuesday that it plans to spin off its controlling stake in Blockbuster, the video rental chain, and take a $1.3 billion charge to write down the value of the business.

Blockbuster's business has been under pressure from cheap sales of DVDs through major retailers as well as emerging video technologies like video on demand and personal video recorders.

Viacom had long been considering a split-off of its roughly 81 percent stake in Blockbuster, and was believed to be looking for a buyer in recent weeks. The company didn't disclose details for the spin-off, and indicated that the plan was not yet final.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4229858/

[MisterC2003]

1. I never liked Blockbuster anyway

They censored the videos in their stores. Actually, it was defacto censorship, by refusing to carry videos unless they were cut Blockbuster's way. Fuck 'em, I hope they go belly-up.