Blockbuster began as a single video rental store in 1985 and grew to become the dominant video rental chain through acquisitions of other local chains. It was acquired by Viacom in 1994 for $8.4 billion. Increased competition from Netflix, cable video-on-demand, and other online options has reduced Blockbuster's market share. In response, Blockbuster launched mail and online subscription services like Total Access to compete directly with Netflix and adapt to changing consumer preferences for online and on-demand access to movies and TV shows.