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With Blockbuster, once the dominant US video-rental chain, on the verge of bankruptcy, Daniel Indiviglio takes a look at three crucial factors in the demise of an outfit whose “fate was mostly sealed by its failure to embrace technology quickly enough.”

• Netflix: “Its business model merged technology, convenience and good customer service,” Indiviglio writes for the Atlantic—and it doesn’t have the overhead costs of ubiquitous stores, like Blockbuster.

• On-demand movies: “It’s a no-brainer” to rent with your remote rather than go through all the effort to go to a store that might not even have the movie you want.
• Digital piracy: “There’s little doubt that Blockbuster and others lost millions of dollars in potential rentals when movies were illegally downloaded.”

(Read more Blockbuster stories.)