NEW YORK -- The company that once offered to sell you eight CDs for 1 cent has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after almost 20 years of falling sales.
The parent of the Columbia House music and DVD clubs said Monday it plans to sell its Columbia House DVD Club business, which sells recorded movies and TV series directly to consumers.
New York-based Filmed Entertainment says its revenue peaked at $1.4 billion in 1996. With the advent of digital media and players, cloud storage and streaming options, its revenue totaled only about $17 million in 2014.
It says it decided to sell Columbia House through a bankruptcy auction.
Columbia House was founded in 1955. It closed the music club, which once offered deals like eight CDs for a penny, in 2010.