-- Shareholders to have Say on Executive Pay --

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr., on behalf of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, today announced that Blockbuster, Inc. of Dallas, TX, has agreed to act on the System’s shareholder proposal calling on Blockbuster’s Board of Directors to allow its shareholders to cast an annual advisory vote on executive pay.

“The System is gratified that Blockbuster’s Board of Directors has agreed to adopt this important policy,” Thompson said. “Allowing shareholders an opportunity to express their views on executive pay, by casting an advisory vote on proposed compensation of senior corporate executives, is a much needed, important corporate governance reform. I am confident that this measure will continue to gain strong momentum in the U.S., beyond the 2008 proxy season. I applaud the Board of Directors for demonstrating leadership and heeding the majority vote cast by shareholders in support of the proposal at Blockbuster’s 2007 annual meeting.”
Blockbuster has agreed to take the following actions:

• Beginning with its 2009 shareholder meeting, Blockbuster will submit a non-binding resolution to ratify the compensation of the named executive officers set forth in the proxy statement’s Summary Compensation Table;
• Prior to the 2009 shareholders meeting, Blockbuster will amend its corporate governance guidelines to establish a committee of directors to meet with shareholders to address their concerns with respect to compensation should the non-binding executive compensation resolution not be ratified; and
• Blockbuster will inform shareholders of these actions in its 2008 proxy statement.

The New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) had filed a proposal calling on Blockbuster’s Boards of Directors to “adopt a policy that Blockbuster, Inc. shareholders be given the opportunity at each annual meeting of shareholders to vote on an advisory resolution…to ratify the compensation of the named executive officers set forth in the proxy statement’s Summary Compensation Table and the accompanying narrative disclosure material factors provided.”

This proposal received 57% of the votes cast at Blockbuster’s 2007 annual meeting, marking the third time a proposal on the issue had received a majority vote in the United States. In light of Blockbuster’s announcement, NYCERS has withdrawn its proposal. NYCERS holds 286,100 shares with a market value of $944,130 in Blockbuster.

“Today’s announcement is a victory for the New York City Pension Funds and all Blockbuster owners,” NYCERS trustee and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum said. “For too long, corporate boards have approved exorbitant executive compensation without any serious input from shareholders. Blockbuster has shown that it is willing to be guided by the advisory vote of its shareholders, paving the way for important corporate governance reform.”

“We commend Blockbuster for its action, and now that Blockbuster is the second company to see the wisdom of implementing the say-on-pay resolution following ratification by shareholders, other companies which have received majority votes for shareholder votes on CEO pay should follow its lead,” said trustee Lillian Roberts, Executive Director, District Council 37, AFSCME.

“This is good news for us as shareholders, and once again we thank Comptroller Thompson for showing great vision and leadership,” added Gregory Floyd, President of International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 237.

In addition to Thompson, the NYCERS trustees are: New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark (Chair); New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum; Borough Presidents Scott Stringer (Manhattan), Helen Marshall (Queens), Marty Markowitz (Brooklyn), Adolfo Carrion (Bronx), and James Molinaro (Staten Island); Lillian Roberts, Executive Director, District Council 37, AFSCME; Roger Toussaint, President Transport Workers Union Local 100; and, Gregory Floyd, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237.

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