Diary: Hit or Miss... Dixons kills off the VCR

Dixons sent out a press release to the BBC, Press Association and IRN on 19 November announcing it would no longer sell video-cassette recorders. Widespread coverage of that release has since hailed the announcement as the death of the VCR. The Guardian's, Mark Lawson wrote an obituary-style history of the VCR: 'VHS... at a stroke gave TV a greater survivability and accessibility than cinema.' Despite its current problems, by proclaiming Dixons' decision as the death knell for the VCR, the media portrayed the firm as the influential market leader in home entertainment.