Redbox Eyes Broadband Distribution But faces an uphill climb to catch up to Netflix Redbox is about to take their incredibly-successful retail DVD kiosk platform and take it online. According to Bloomberg, the company has set their sights on Netflix's successful streaming services, and will be launching a broadband delivery platform of their own sometime this fall (they'll have more details in October). Meanwhile, Dan Rayburn at BusinessOfVideo.com notes that Redbox has been trying to cook up a broadband delivery platform for some time -- but unlike Netflix has no embedded device penetration (game consoles, TVs, Blu-Ray players, Roku). Like Netflix, they have to navigate Hollywood's restrictive licensing and fear of video delivery evolution.
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  bionicRodFunkier than a mohair disco ball.Premium
join:2009-07-06
united state
 ·CenturyLink
 ·Mediacom
| Hard Sell I think this would be a hard sell as I would think most people who want this service already have it through Netflix. Unless Redbox can get new releases or drop the price considerably ($1 per movie would be my guess as that's kind of their thing) I don't see the incentive. | |
|  | | | | | | Re: Hard Sell The only problem I have with Redbox Is there not much selections at the Redbox machine. From what i have seen it just about 40 selections.
It probably Just stick with Netflex because of the mail dvds and get Netflex on my Tivo.
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| | | Or perhaps actually offer a decent selection for online streaming. Netflix's online choices leaves a lot to be desired. | |
| | |  NPGMBR
join:2001-03-28
Arlington, VA | Re: Hard Sell Very true but thats because of the restrictions placed on them by the industry. RedBox will face the same restrictions unless they can convince the industry to give them better terms. If RedBox can accomplish that, they get can get the leg-up on Netlifx. | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Re: Hard Sell said by pandora:Getting any DVD, and returning it locally, would be much nicer than having to get one in the mail and return it. Nahhh I'll take the mail delivery any day. With a day to the Netflix center and a day back to me... I can wait. It's one less stop I have to make. | |
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join:2001-03-28
Arlington, VA | Re: Hard Sell I agree 100%. I'm never that hard-up to watch a flick. Besides having the ability he was talking about takes a store which is exactly what blockbuster is and its not working.
Why?.....because even when Blockbuster had no competition; it was still difficult for them to stock enough of the current hot flicks to meet demand and people (myself included) slowly lost faith because I was not in a position to be at my local Blockbuster on that special day when everyone would bring back their rentals so the next group of folks to rent them. | |
| | | | | | | | | Re: Hard Sell its possible it can work. where netflix is monthly fee all you can eat maybe they will go for a cheap on demand kind of thing. its possible it can work more so if they can get the newer releases out. if they can rent a dvd for a day for $1 i dont see why they cant offer streaming for $1 each. a couple people said several other companies are offering streaming movies but not sure how much those cost. | |
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| | | | | bionicRodFunkier than a mohair disco ball.Premium
join:2009-07-06
united state Reviews:
·CenturyLink
·Mediacom
| said by Uncle Paul:said by pandora:Getting any DVD, and returning it locally, would be much nicer than having to get one in the mail and return it. Nahhh I'll take the mail delivery any day. With a day to the Netflix center and a day back to me... I can wait. It's one less stop I have to make. I agree too. I hate Redbox because I just don't want to return the damned things. I don't want to go to our crowded grocery store, find a parking spot in the five acres of lot, fight the moronic public with their twelve kids all standing at the redbox trying to decide what to spend their last dollar on just to stick a movie back into the machine when I could just stick it in the mailbox in front of my house. Netflix FTW!
Yes. I am a grouchy old man. That's me glaring at you when you're standing in the middle of the aisle with your cart picking your nose and trying to decide which bread to buy.  | |
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| | | |  dvd536as Mr. Pink as they comePremium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
kudos:4 | said by pandora:Getting any DVD, and returning it locally, would be much nicer than having to get one in the mail and return it. And getting throttled!
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|  alchav
join:2002-05-17
Palm Desert, CA | It is a Hard Sell, but I think it's the way of the future. I think it's all going to depend on a few things, the major one is your Broadband connection and you are going to need a big pipe to stream HD Movies. People want to see current Movies, so the selection has to be there and the price has to be right. Then to entice everyone, they could throw in some sneak Movie Premiers. I know this will work some day. | |
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1 edit | It's not fear, it is greed Karl, you always throw in comments like "fear of video delivery evolution.", which seem a little out of touch. The studios are embracing digital delivery, left/right and center. They love it, it gives them complete control of what they can charge. This is evidenced by moving the VOD up and up, and is now before physical disc rentals (via nf/rb).
The real issue, is that the Studios fear Netflix/Red Box, as they get pennies per rental vs dollars per rental when people get their movies from them. They are not interested in supporting a Netflix model where they stream unlimited new releases for less than $20/month, or a red box online that offered new releases for a dollar a pop. It is not that they fear online delivery, they want to kill the old red box/netflix model that was not very profitable for them, that was basically only allowed to exist because of the first sale doctrine. | |
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1 edit | Re: It's not fear, it is greed Karl, you always throw in comments like "fear of video delivery evolution.", which seem a little out of touch. So that's why they spend so much time trying to lock and cripple down content with annoying and restrictive DRM?The studios are embracing digital delivery, left/right and center. They're busy embracing their vision of digital delivery, which usually resides in fantasyland, and involve a ridiculous amount of control over both content and hardware.The real issue, is that the Studios fear Netflix/Red Box, as they get pennies per rental vs dollars per rental when people get their movies from them. They are not interested in supporting a Netflix model where they stream unlimited new releases for less than $20/month, or a red box online that offered new releases for a dollar a pop. It is not that they fear online delivery, they want to kill the old red box/netflix model that was not very profitable for them, that was basically only allowed to exist because of the first sale doctrine. That part I agree with. Not sure why it can't be both fear and greed. These are some very old gentlement who have grown very comfortable with their old business model. I certainly believe fear enters into it. | |
| |  GbcueAlmost P.E.Premium
join:2001-09-30
Santa Rosa, CA
kudos:8 | What do you have to say about HDCP? | |
| | | | The real issue, is that the Studios fear Netflix/Red Box, as they get pennies per rental vs dollars per rental when people get their movies from them. There is no fear there. First of all, Netflix and Red Box are required to buy rental copies of the DVD's, which cost a lot more than a retail copy of a DVD. And second, most of the major studios have already told Netflix and Red Box they can't get the new releases until 30 days after they go on sale, or they don't get them at all.
The studios are fully in control here, because they have the legal backing to be in control.
It's probably not a good way to do business, but it is how it currently is. | |
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| | Hee You said "but faces" hee hee | |
| dvd536as Mr. Pink as they comePremium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
kudos:4 | Low bitrates, DRM, restrictions Think i'll stick to the kiosks where I can get full dvd quality with no restrictions on where i can watch it.
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| |  morboComplete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000 | Re: Low bitrates, DRM, restrictions I've only used Redbox a few times, but the one time I had to wait for the couple in front of me to flip through the catalog and decide what they wanted to rent clued me in to the huge downside of Redbox: other customers and lines. | |
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 kingdome74What Have You DonePremium
join:2002-03-27
Syracuse, NY
kudos:2
 ·Verizon FiOS
·RoadRunner Cable
| Overreach Redbox also faces competition from Apple Inc. and Best Buy Co., which sell movie downloads. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, bought the Vudu Inc. online entertainment service in February and Sears Holdings Corp., the largest department store owner, said on June 22 it plans to sell and rent movies online through an agreement with Sonic.
This is the interesting part. I worked for Coinstar (who owns Redbox after buying McDonalds out of their share) when they acquired Sugarloaf who owned all those kiddie rides, video games, and claw machines and Folz Vending (gumball machines) and other companies with the sole intent of getting their change machines into Walmart. Walmart, at the same time, did a national redesign of their front end which removed many of the vendor machines that choked the entrances of their stores and as part of that redesign Coinstar agreed to remove many of it's high profit bulk and toy machines in exchange for the installation of Redboxes that would sit on the same footprint of those machines. Not surprisingly Coinstar sold off it's entrainment and bulk divisions shortly thereafter choosing to concentrate on it's change, ewire transfers, and, obviously, Redbox. This can't be good news for Coinstar who now not only has to compete with Netflix but with a Walmart-branded movie delivery system. Obviously Coinstar has overreached. I wouldn't be surprised to see this silently fade away as Coinstar doesn't want to be the tail that tried to wag Walmart's dog.
In other words don't piss where you sleep.
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Traudi - 80 pally tank, Dyrmaker, baby mage... Gronger, baby hunter for PvP... Alliance Silvermoon.
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|  SlickEnWPremium
join:2003-01-21
Seattle, WA | I was Going to make an epic titanic + ice berg reference but it seemed pretty convoluted.
So i'll just liken broadband video delivery and lower bandwidth caps to high speed japanese trains during rush hour, both rapidly approaching each other on a single track.
Can't wait to see the show. //popcorn | |
| kcblackPremium
join:2000-09-11
Chicago, IL | Blockbuster Kiosks in Dominicks... Interestingly enough, it seems that at least some of the Chicagoland Dominicks stores are now sporting Blockbuster Kiosks...... | |
| | jca2050Premium
join:2002-02-04
Hacienda Heights, CA Reviews:
·Verizon FiOS
1 edit | Re: Blockbuster Kiosks in Dominicks... There are quite a few Blockbuster kiosks in North Texas. Actually, they replaced Red box in a few stores like Tom Thumb. One day there was a Red Box kiosk, then next day it was replaced by a blue Blockbluster kiosk. I thought Red Box had gotten bought out. It is a straight up rip off in every sense too even up to the prices ($1/day). The one thing the Blockbuster kiosks have going for them are BluRay. One of the kiosks near my house has BluRay rentals for $2/day. | |
| |  KrKHeavy Artillery For The Little GuyPremium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
·AT&T DSL Service
| Blockbuster is making huge inroads. Why? Moola.
Redbox offers revenue sharing, Blockbuster, who is late to the game are going to stores and not only offering revenue sharing, but also PAYING to have the boxes put in stores.
Result? A lot of places are signing up. It remains to be seen if Blockbuster can make this work, and I suspect that if they reach critical mass they will no longer offer the moola just to put a box on your location, but for now, it's working. Many chains are going with Blockbuster because of the big cash payout up front.
For example, in my area, Redbox has ruled the market--- they are at grocery stores, pharmacies, Walmarts, super markets, etc
They are all over.... but now Blockbuster is about to put a Kiosk in every QuikTrip store. They'll literally go from nothing to dozens and dozens of Kiosks in just a few weeks.
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"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Benito Mussolini
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| | | morboComplete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000 | Re: Blockbuster Kiosks in Dominicks... Blockbuster better hurry. The company is dying quickly. Physical stores are history. They failed to deal with competition appropriately and quickly when they had the time. | |
| | | | KrKHeavy Artillery For The Little GuyPremium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK Reviews:
·AT&T DSL Service
| Re: Blockbuster Kiosks in Dominicks... Yep, they made their business model about trying to save the stores. Everything they tried online was still designed to funnel you back to the brick-and-mortar store.
Finally, I think they realize they are on life support and have to get with the program to have a chance.
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"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Benito Mussolini
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 funchordsHelloPremium,MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA
kudos:5 | Either did Netflix when they started... but unlike Netflix has no embedded device penetration (game consoles, TVs, Blu-Ray players, Roku) Netflix added these, so I don't think it's a differentiator. The trick will be to ALSO get on these platforms. Redbox has the brand recognition to do it, unlike some other mom and pop.
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Robb Topolski -= funchords.com =- Cape Cod, MA -- KE1MO
Tweet! Tweet! -- »twitter.com/funchords | |
| | | | Re: Either did Netflix when they started... said by funchords:but unlike Netflix has no embedded device penetration (game consoles, TVs, Blu-Ray players, Roku) Netflix added these, so I don't think it's a differentiator. The trick will be to ALSO get on these platforms. Redbox has the brand recognition to do it, unlike some other mom and pop. The problem is Netflix is ALREADY out there. How many people will want to buy an additional or new box just to get redbox support when they already have netflix? You know support is not going to come as a firmware update... | |
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 DareiusIt's a beautiful day in the neighborhoodPremium
join:2002-11-12
Elmhurst, NY | I would consider it.... if they would offer new movies at a better price than On Demand cable. Or make a similar subscription service like companies have for music downloads.
I would be willing to pay more for the convenience of watching newer movies via a subscription service. As long as it is reasonable.
Then again, this would probably sound the "DVD Doomsday" alarm.
Just cannot win. | |
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Re: Hard Sell
