Redbox is an American company that specializes in the rental of DVDs and video games via vending machines – currently with 25,000 kiosks.[1] Kiosks feature the company's signature red color and arched top surface, visible in the corporate logo, and are located across the United States in fast food restaurants, pharmacies, grocery stores and convenience stores. A subsidiary of Coinstar, Redbox was ranked as the fifth largest DVD rental company by revenue in the United States in April 2007 by the Entertainment Merchants Association.[2] Contents 1 History 2 Kiosk design and operation 3 Movie studio lawsuits 4 See also 5 References 6 External links [edit] History Redbox Automated Retail LLC was initially funded by McDonald's Ventures, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of McDonald's Corp. In 2005, Coinstar bought 47 percent of the company.[3] In February 2009, Coinstar paid McDonald's and other shareholders between $169 and $176 million for the remainder of the company.[4][5] The company passed Blockbuster in 2007 in number of U.S . locations[6] and passed 100 million rentals in February 2008.[7] Competitors include The New Release (aka Moviecube), DVDXpress, DVDplay and Blockbuster Express (NCR). DVD vending companies currently have 19% of the DVD rental market, with 36 percent to rent-by-mail services and 45 percent to traditional stores.[1] Mitch Lowe joined Redbox as Chief Operating Officer in 2005 after a period at McDonald's and co-founding Netflix.[8] Lowe had experimented in 1982 with a short-lived VHS movie vending company named Video Droid.[1] Mitch Lowe was named President of Redbox in April 2009. On February 18, 2010, Redbox announced that they would begin renting out movies on the high-definition format Blu-ray Disc by mid 2010.[9] The company is currently test marketing video game rentals in Reno, Nevada, Orlando, Florida, Stevens Point, Wisconsin , Austin, Texas and Wilmington, North Carolina also Corvallis, Oregon.[10][10] [edit] Kiosk design and operation A Redbox kiosk in front of a Walgreens in Sheboygan, WI. Redbox began in 2004, using re-branded kiosks manufactured and operated by Silicon Valley-based DVDPlay, at 140 McDonald's restaurants in their Denver and other test markets.[11] The first DVD rental kiosks in Phoenix AZ accompanied the company's unsuccessful attempt at automated convenience store kiosks.[2] In April 2005, Redbox phased out the DVDPlay-manufactured machines and contracted Solectron—a subsidiary of Flextronics, which also manufactures the Zune, Xbox and Xbox 360—to create and manufacture a custom kiosk design.[12] A Redbox barcoded DVD tray, delivered by and returned to the kiosk. The company's typical self-service vending kiosk combines an interactive touch screen and sign, a robotic disk array system[13] and web-linked electronic communications. Kiosks can be located indoors or out and can hold more than 600 DVDs with 70–200 titles, updated weekly.[14] The kiosks are built as modules, and in areas with higher sales figures, a second machine can be connected to the first on order to offer a wider selection. The customer pays with a credit card or debit card. DVDs can be returned the next day to any of the company's kiosks; charges accrue up to 25 days, after which the customer then owns the DVD (without the original case) and rental charges cease. Customers can also reserve DVDs online, made possible by real-time inventory updates on the company's website.[15] While customers can buy used DVDs from the kiosks (with unsold used DVDs returned to suppliers), Redbox estimates only 1% to 3% of the company's revenue comes from used disc sales.[16] A Redbox kiosk rents its average DVD 15 times at an average of $2 per transaction plus any applicable taxes.[1] As of April, 2007, kiosks had averaged 49.1 rentals per day and $37,457 a year in revenue.[2] [edit] Movie studio lawsuits Inside of a Redbox kiosk as staff service the machine and add new titles for the upcoming week. With growing concern in 2009 that DVD kiosks may jeopardize DVD sales and rentals, three major movie studios, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. and Universal Studios, separately refused to sell DVDs to Redbox until at least 28 days after their arrival in stores.[1] Since Redbox's business model relies upon new releases,[1] and just Fox and Warner Bros. represented 62 percent of home video rental revenue in 2008–09, analysts have said that this "windowing" of new releases by the three studios may make Redbox's business model unviable.[17][18] Redbox responded by filing lawsuits, first, against Universal in October 2008,[19] then against 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. in August 2009.[20][21] In these lawsuits, Redbox has asserted three claims against the studios: copyright misuse, tortious interference and antitrust claims. In August 2009, the federal judge hearing the Universal case rejected the first two claims, but allowed the antitrust claim to continue.[22] While the judge found sufficient merit in the antitrust claim to allow the case to continue, some independent observers doubt it can succeed, since Redbox "must show that the studios worked together as a cartel... There is little evidence of an industrywide conspiracy."[17][21] In October 2009, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. filed motions to dismiss Redbox's lawsuits against them, with Fox arguing that "antitrust law does not require a seller to provide its product through the distribution channel that the buyer demands, on the date that the buyer demands, or at the price that the buyer demands,"[23] and Warner Bros. saying that "This is precisely the type of routine business dispute, motivated solely by a merchant's attempt to protect its profits rather than to protect competition, that the antitrust laws are not meant to address."[24] Other major studios, Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures and Lionsgate, signed distribution deals with Redbox.[1] The Walt Disney Company permits third-party distributors to sell to Redbox, but has not entered into a direct relationship with the company.[1] Both sides of the studio lawsuits have pointed to these revenue-sharing deals to shore up their argument, with Redbox President Mitch Lowe saying "our growth can lead to theirs [the studios' growth]. For example, Redbox currently estimates we will pay more than a combined $1 billion over the next five years to Sony, Lionsgate and Paramount to purchase and then rent new release DVDs to consumers,"[25] while Warner Bros. says the deals are proof that far from being shut out by Hollywood, "Redbox's business has thrived since its suit against Universal, underscored by lucrative distribution deals with Paramount Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Lionsgate."[24] Redbox entered into an agreement with Warner on February 16, 2010,[26] followed by Universal[27] and Fox[28] on April 22 of the year. In the agreements, which settle Redbox's lawsuits, Redbox agreed to not make available for rental films from these studios until 28 days after their initial home video releases. Redbox also improved their ability to make available Blu-ray Disc releases from the studio parties.
| Type | Subsidiary of Coinstar |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail /DVD rental |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois , United States |
| Area served | North America |
| Key people | Mitch Lowe, President |
| Website | redbox.com |
Redbox is an American company that specializes in the rental of DVDs and video games via vending machines – currently with 25,000 kiosks.
Kiosks feature the company's signature red color and arched top surface, visible in the corporate logo, and are located across the United States in fast food restaurants, pharmacies , grocery stores and convenience stores .
A subsidiary of Coinstar , Redbox was ranked as the fifth largest DVD rental company by revenue in the United States in April 2007 by the Entertainment Merchants Association .
Contents
|
History
Redbox Automated Retail LLC was initially funded by McDonald's Ventures, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of McDonald's Corp. In 2005, Coi
redbox trembla news blog
What better way to enjoy a night with the family than to kick back with some homemade popcorn and watch a flick? How about getting a free rental in the process Read the rest
redblog
Best of Redbox Picks. Erika selects 6 must-see movies for Spring 2011 READ MORE Read the rest
redbox wikipedia the free encyclopedia
Redbox is an American company that specializes in the rental of DVDs and video games via vending machines – currently with 25,000 kiosks. Kiosks feature the company Read the rest
redbox facebook
Welcome to the official Facebook Page about Redbox. Join Facebook to start connecting with Redbox. Read the rest
redbox for iphone ipod touch and ipad on the itunes app store
Learn more, read reviews, and download redbox by redbox on the iTunes App Store. Read the rest
inside redbox redbox codes redbox news dvd rental news free
Inside Redbox is the online community dedicated to Redbox. Get Redbox News, Redbox Codes for Free DVD Rentals, and more Read the rest
support home page
Renting & Returning. Help with renting & returning discs, what to do if a disc or a redbox kiosk isn't working and more. Read the rest
redbox
Redbox is a DVD movie rental vending machine that can be found in over 20,000 locations. Rather than ordering and waiting for the movies to arrive by mail, customers Read the rest
dvd rental new movies on bluray™ and dvd at redbox
Rent, reserve and preview new movie DVDs online at redbox.com. $1-a-night DVDs; Blu-ray and video game rentals too. New customers get a rental credit when they Read the rest
red box rock dine roll
Read the rest