What do Hollywood studios think about redbox movie rental?
Whither Redbox? Hollywood studios are conflicted by The Associated Press LOS ANGELES August 7, 2009, 03:52 pm ET Hollywood studios are split over Redbox, the $1-per-night DVD rental kiosk company: They could supply it with cheap wholesale discs and ride its massive growth, or starve it in the hopes of preserving higher-priced purchases. News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox fell on the side of starvation this week, joining General Electric Co.’s Universal Pictures, whose withholding of discs prompted a lawsuit. On the flip side, Sony Corp.’s movie division signed a five-year deal just last month to supply Redbox. As part of the deal, Redbox would get discs more cheaply but would have to destroy copies after their rental lives ended rather than sell them as “previously viewed” for $7 apiece, as it had done in the past. Many other studios are taking a wait-and-see approach. Although fans of the self-service vending machines won’t notice a difference, the approach is crucial to both Redbox and th
The hottest thing in movie rentals is as old as the Coke machine — and just as red. Redbox movie kiosks are popping up by the thousands in supermarkets, drugstores, restaurants and convenience stores around the country. The kiosks stock DVDs that rent for $1 a day, a remainder-bin price that is less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks. For all the talk about the Internet, Wi-Fi and cellphones becoming the new gateways to watch movies and wiping out the corner Blockbuster, a ubiquitous vending machine the size of a refrigerator is becoming a growing concern to Hollywood. Consumers are pulling DVDs out of the Redbox kiosks in record numbers, undermining longtime economics that have propped up the movie business — and in the process triggered a backlash from a major studio that sought to cut off Redbox’s supply of hot new DVDs. “We have grown at a phenomenal pace over the last six years, and that growth is continuing, even in the midst of the recession,” said Gregg Kaplan, chief executive
The hottest thing in movie rentals is as old as the Coke machine — and just as red. Redbox movie kiosks are popping up by the thousands in supermarkets, drugstores, restaurants and convenience stores around the country. The kiosks stock DVDs that rent for $1 a day, a remainder-bin price that is less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks. For all the talk about the Internet, Wi-Fi and cellphones becoming the new gateways to watch movies and wiping out the corner Blockbuster, a ubiquitous vending machine the size of a refrigerator is becoming a growing concern to Hollywood. Consumers are pulling DVDs out of the Redbox kiosks in record numbers, undermining longtime economics that have propped up the movie business — and in the process triggered a backlash from a major studio that sought to cut off Redbox’s supply of hot new DVDs. “We have grown at a phenomenal pace over the last six years, and that growth is continuing, even in the midst of the recession,” said Gregg Kaplan, chief executive
Hollywood studios are split over Redbox, the $1-per-night DVD rental kiosk company: They could supply it with cheap wholesale discs and ride its massive growth, or starve it in the hopes of preserving higher-priced purchases. News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox fell on the side of starvation this week, joining General Electric Co.’s Universal Pictures, whose withholding of discs prompted a lawsuit. On the flip side, Sony Corp.’s movie division signed a five-year deal just last month to supply Redbox. As part of the deal, Redbox would get discs more cheaply but would have to destroy copies after their rental lives ended rather than sell them as “previously viewed” for $7 apiece, as it had done in the past.
