After a late night bidding session, Dish Network has emerged as the winning bidder for the assets of Blockbuster, the once-dominant player in movie rentals and sales. The winning bid was $228 million in cash, and the purchase should be wrapped up by July.

Why in the world would Dish want to buy a failed business model? Presumably, they're really after the emerging kiosk and download revenue streams, and not the declining packaged media operations. But this purchase also gives Dish a new outlet to sell their pay TV services.

Even though Blockbuster has closed a third of its stores nationwide, that still gives Dish a good-sized footprint to try and capture more customers at retail.

Ergen beat out some pretty heavy hitters for BB, including Carl Icahn and an investor's group led by Monarch Alternative Capital.

In a press release, Dish highlighted Blockbuster's “more than 1,700 store locations, as well as its “highly recognizable brand and multiple methods of delivery. Dish is also angling to buy Hughes Communications' Internet-by-satellite service for about $1.3 billion.