The UK arms of High Street entertainment firms HMV and Blockbuster have both gone into administration this week. HMV has arguably been the biggest UK High Street retailer for CDs, DVDs, and games as of late, whilst Blockbuster has very much been the last bastion of physical DVD and games rental services.

Accountancy firm Deloitte will step in as the administrator for both companies. HMV has suspended the use of gift vouchers and loyalty cards, but this service remains unaffected for Blockbuster.

HMV has 239 stores in the UK and Ireland, and Blockbuster 528. Stores are, at the time of writing, still open for business, but the longer term future of both companies remains unclear.

Each firm employs over 4000 staff.