Adminstrators wind up Blockbuster video with loss of 800 jobs It marks the end of nearly 25 years in the UK for the Blockbuster brand. It was brought over from the United States in 1989 as VHS player ownership took off and came to dominate the rental market. Over the last decade the business has been eroded by new competition, first from DVD-by-post services such as LoveFilm and latterly by internet streaming services including Netflix and BlinkBox, as well as on-demand options from Sky and Virgin Media. Blockbuster first called in adminitsrators in January. The found a buyer in Gordon Brothers, but the private equity group was unable to turn the operation around and failed to strike a licensing deal with the American brand owners to introduce a Blockbuster streaming service. Since Gordon Brothers called in administrators they have gradually closed Blockbuster's 264 stores nationwide with the loss of more than 2,000 jobs in total.