One of the biggest tech and entertainment retail store chains in the US is getting out of the disk-based movie and TV show business. Best Buy confirmed this week it will stop selling DVD and Blu-ray movie and TV show disks sometime in the first quarter of 2024, in both its 1,129 store locations and on its website.
The news was first reported by The Digital Bits on Thursday and on Friday Variety received a statement from a Best Buy spokesperson confirming the report:
"To state the obvious, the way we watch movies and TV shows is much different today than it was decades ago,” a Best Buy spokesperson said in a statement to Variety. “Making this change gives us more space and opportunity to bring customers new and innovative tech for them to explore, discover and enjoy.”
Variety added that according to its sources, Best Buy made the decision to end sales of DVDs and Blu-ray disks nine months ago. The retailer will continue to sell these disks during the busy holiday season before finally ending these sales in early 2024.
In the past, Best Buy was the place where physical movie and TV show buyers could buy exclusive special edition DVD and Blu-ray disks, often in a Steelbook case. This news of Best Buy"s departure comes just a few weeks after Netflix ended its long-running DVD mail rental service.
With Best Buy out of the movie and TV show business, the physical disk business will be dominated by Walmart, which already has 45 percent of the market, according to The Digital Bits. Amazon and Target also continue to sell disk movies and TV shows, and of course, there are still thousands of Redbox machines that offer disk-based movies for rent.
If you are wondering if Best Buy is getting out of selling physical video game disks, the good news is that Variety reports that the retailer will continue to sell video games. That will also likely make Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo happy as well.