Be careful about interpreting comments like "the only ones in town". E-6 has always been a niche product, and the scores of shops and kiosks that used to take your E-6 likely sent it all to just one or two labs. For probably 95%+ of folks, shooting E-6 has always meant sending it away to a specialty lab. If you didn't do it directly, the place you dropped it off at sent it out.
I was talking to my local lab about their E-6 volume just the other day, while dropping off a roll of Sensia. They said they don't get as much as they used to, but still have a very strong E-6 business. Then came the part I didn't expect. They said a lot of their E-6 business has been replaced with C-41! Apparently, they changed their business model to focus much more on portrait studios and wedding photographers, and said these folks have gone to C-41 in a big way. The new formulations give them the quality they used to need E-6 for, with the convenience and versatility of shooting negatives.
In the US, at least, the future of imaging has already established itself; and it could not have worked out better for serious photographers. The massive, consumer grade business will continue to shrink, along with the cheap, low quality negative film and equally cheap, low quality processing that was the bread and butter of this business. We are left with very high quality films, that must be bought mail order from a few large outlets, and a few dedicated, high quality labs to process it (the same as it has always been for pro film). Yes, it will be more expensive. But quality has its price.
I for one will shed no tears for a world without Kodak Gold 200 (I've got enough of it in the fridge, that will never get used!)
