Cox Cable to Leave Video Rental Business:...

Cox Cable to Leave Video Rental Business: Cox Cable Communications wants to get out of the videocassette rental business and sell its 82 Blockbuster Video stores. Atlanta-based Cox owns about 10% of the 838 franchise stores. The decision reflects a strategy shift for the firm, which just a month ago was aggressively opening video stores. Spokesman David Andersen said, “We either needed to take on a more significant position in that business or get out.” Cox’s decision came after it was unable to sell 26 stores in saturated East coast markets back to Blockbuster or swap them for stores in the Southeast. Cox is a unit of privately held Cox Enterprises Inc.