Pablo writes:

Alan writes:

Arthur Morowitz, a key figure in the early days of the home video industry, died Sept. 11 at the age of 80.

Morowitz, of Short Hills, N.J., is best known as the founder of the Video Shack chain of video rental stores, which he launched in 1979 just as consumers were beginning to catch on to the novelty of renting their favorite movies on video cassette.

At the time, the studios were fighting retailers over the right to rent movies, which they wanted to sell directly to consumers. The studios ultimately lost in court, and the video rental business flourished, prompting Morowitz and other early retailers to band together as the Video Software Dealers Association, or VSDA, of which he was a founding board member.

said Mark Fisher, president and CEO of OTT.X, the trade group for streamers that is a direct descendant of the VSDA.

Fisher said.

Morowitz later founded the WWF Coliseum Video label.

To read the complete article, see:
Arthur Morowitz, Home Video Industry Pioneer, Dies at 80(https://www.mediaplaynews.com/arthur-morowitz-home-video-industry-pioneer-dies-at-80/)