Digital Trends – As reported initially during January, Dish Network has finally decided on the amount of Blockbuster retail locations to close. Mentioned within Dish Networkâs announcement regarding fourth quarter profits earlier today, the satellite service provider will be closing 500 Blockbuster stores across the United States during the first half of 2012. This will reduce the amount of remaining Blockbuster stores by roughly 33 percent, dropping from 1,500 locations down to just 1,000 storefronts. Store closures were made for a number of reasons, but the most prominent was a downturn in store-level financial performance due to competition from Redbox and Netflix.