The New York Times:
By December, there will be 22,000 Redbox machines in spots like supermarkets, Wal-Mart Stores and fast-food restaurants.
Redbox's growth -- it started with 12 kiosks in 2004 and now processes about 80 transactions a second on Friday nights -- has Hollywood's blood boiling.
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So I guess competition doesn't apply when it doesn't suit your best interests. I thought businesses were all about free-market, competition, and all that stuff. One dollar movie rentals should be the least of their worries when there are a few sites bookmarked where you can get movies that are still in the theater or months before they're out on DVD in less time then it takes to go to Blockbuster. Plus they're good quality if you know where to look.
Frak the GD studios and the "traditional" video stores like Blockbuster! As far as the studios go, if they could force rental companies to charge $10 a night for some of their worthless garbage they would. The traditional video stores need to update their 1970's business model. I think we, the consumer, should ban together and collectively sue the Hollywood studios for restraint of trade and for limiting our free choice.
I really love redbox. Screw paying 5 bucks at blockbuster or 15 bucks to netflix. And who can afford to go a movie now? Redbox is cheap, with great titles and very easy to use. Not to mention they are all over the place now! Woo hoo!
I love Redbox, beside the latest movies, they also carry documentaries, popular indy flicks and stand up comedy. I have also purchased some really good films for $5.00. I am sorry to hear they'll be doing away with the purchase option. I'd better go and load up! I admit I rarely go to the movies anymore and usually just wait for it to come to redbox, which is usually shortly after release. I am surprised to hear there were only 22,000 kiosks, they are everywhere in my neighborhood. The one problem is that a line can become fairly long at one of the kiosks because of the time it takes to find and rent a movie and return them. Sometimes when selecting, you can feel harried from other rentees. I've had 2 instances when visiting an outside kiosk, people who drive up in their cars, claim they were in line before they get out of their cars! Or people who ask if they can cut ahead of you because they just want to return a DVD. It takes a long time to do that too!
I've been using Redbox for many months now and just love it!
So much more convenient than the others, no open or closed hours to worry about.
You can reserve rentals online and then pick it up from any number of the units in my town.
When I read about how reactionary and irrational large corporations are, it amazes me that they manage to stay in business as long as they do.
1. Most of us have access to an incredible free dvd collection in our local libraries, that hasn't put studios out of business.
2. Redbox's rentals are $1 per day, but most people keep them more than one day, which becomes comparable to renting from local guys, Blockbuster, Netflix, etc, who have high overheads. Once that overhead is paid, how much would the rental price be per day?
3. Redbox doesn't have much space, so people looking for anything other than the latest junk will not use them (like me).
4. It seems like the music industry was whining many years ago that the used CD stores were going to put them out of business.
5. How can (why would) Redbox manage to "put out of business" the very entities that keep them in business? Just like with the music industry - no movie studios, no movies. Sure, the studios may have to adjust for new competition, but isn't that how things are supposed to happen in the land of big business?
Red Box is nothing compared to file sharing. Man, the things an older person can learn form young people, it's amazing-- what programs to use, how to protect your P2P ID, etc. It's frightening, the capabilities of the first or second generation youngsters who grew up with computers from infancy. Hollywood has good reason to be fearful, just imagine what young kids will be capable of in 20 years.
Redbox movie selection is terrible. I am surprised they are doing that well.
It's terrible because Universal, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros have conspired to put them out of business by withholding releases from them. They used to be much better. Greedy Hollywood basterds (borrowing from Tarrantino's latest movie title).
Sadly, it seems that the movie industry is making many of the same mistakes as the music industry. Instead of trying to tap the potential of new innovations, they try to stifle them.
This is for people that have 8 track tape players. Anyone with cable uses video on demand. Anyone with a dish uses netflix. Anyone that uses this technology is a fool and you know what they say about a fool and their money.
Why pay when you can get it for free? Just ask your kid, or any young kid, how......
This is kinda off topic, but I think it adds. The movie industry is no different than the music industry. It falls victim to old technology. The best they can do is embrace the new because it's all falling from their grasp with new tech. Software and hardware is becoming more and more accessible. People have them to create their own music and independent movies. The industry continues to adopt expensive software and hardware just to be able to say they are still mainstream. The technology is like a double edge blade to them. Like the HD movement. It gave people a reason to buy older films and build movie collections but now why would you go to a movie when you can wait to rent and watch on your home theatre system? Indy music labels are making a comeback because of the new technology. The digital movement is still bringing the industries down to size. As the software becomes easier to use and the hardware gets cheaper, the only question is do you know how to use it and market it. Right now that is the only thing the industry has. Marketing.
Redbox is OK, much better deal than Blockbuster or other video stores... but I have not been a fan of big Hollywood blockbuster movies as of late...I prefer Netflix, even if it takes 2 days to get it as I can stock up on movies (like indie films and foreign flicks) you would never see in the theaters around here or at most video stores...
"But Hollywood’s powerful public relations machinery is in motion behind the scenes to connect the news media with a group that is equally threatened by Redbox but much more relatable: mom and pop rental store owners."
I didn't see Hollywood standing up for the little mom & pop video rentals back in the early 90s when Blockbuster came thru and knocked 90% of the smaller chains out of business. In my area (the DC burbs) there's very few mom & pop video rental shops, and the ones that exist cater to specific niche markets, so it's clear the Redbox machines are mostly affecting the big companies like Blockbusters and the online rental companies like Netflix. I like the Redbox concept, its much cheaper, and they're everywhere. Why wait 3-5 days for the mail, or deal with a crappy corporation like Blockbusters?? Redbox will win this battle with Hollywood, just like digital music won against the Music Industry. You can't stop technology.
Yeah really, most mom and pop's never made it to the DVD era.
Redbox is awesome! It's cheap and convenient...that's a great combination.
Damn I use to rent VHS tapes from a kiosk like that in the 80s! The big difference was that the choice was not all that great and the price was not that good. Buy nobody need to worry about the mom and pop video stores, Blockbuster and the other big franchise killed them 20 years ago!
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First Posted: 09- 6-09 09:45 PM | Updated: 09- 6-09 09:56 PM