Actually, I think the death of video retails + physical media in general is partially responsible for "fandom"/ (media) "geek culture" losing some of its sense of broader cultural memory (of both the genres/mediums it latches onto and the subcultures that form around them), story-specific fan culture longevity, etc.
Like. It is a whole thing that streaming services will take down series on a whim, before they have a chance to "find their audience." The whole phenomenon of box office bombs becoming "cult classics" is dependent on post-release longevity. Sci-Fi and Fantasy film and tv fandom, Anime fandom, etc have historically made great use of physical media - not just its legal availability for both purchase and rental, but its ease of sharing and transferal. Where would anime fandom outside Japan even be, without the work of fan-subbers paving some of the way?
If the rights-holders deemed it profitable to not release or re-release a piece of television or film, or even to destroy the original footage outright, it was the ability to keep some record safe, and passed around, that allowed new people to see it, to discuss it, to love and hate it. But corporations only love people loving their old "Intellectual Properties" if they, personally can milk it. They will try to squeeze cash out of the "cult" nostalgia properties that have already grown mainstream, with reboots and sequels and merchandise... but they won't give new niche works a chance to grow.