redbox

NPD Group says that for the first time, movie rentals from standalone kiosk have a larger market share in the United States than those from brick-and-mortar stores.

"Netflix and other subscription services comprised 41 percent of video rental turns in the third quarter of 2010," NPD wrote, "followed by kiosk rentals at 31 percent, and in-store rentals at 27 percent."

NPD, a research firm, said today that its study found the share of kiosk rentals grew 10 percent from the same quarter in 2009. The data only accounts for disc rentals and does not include movies … Read more

Redbox owner Coinstar had a worse-than-expected fourth quarter as it severely underestimated the impact 28-day delays on movie availability, among other factors, would have on its operation.

The company said yesterday that it expects to make between $78 million and $82 million when it announces fourth-quarter earnings next month. Coinstar initially estimated that it would generate a profit of $84 million to $90 million. Moreover, it has revised its 2011 revenue outlook down from $1.85 billion to $1.70 billion.

"Overall, the performance of the Redbox business during the fourth quarter was not in line with our forecast,&… Read more

Don't expect to find new Warner Bros. movies in Blockbuster Express kiosks the same day the DVDs hit store shelves.

NCR, the company that owns and operates Blockbuster Express kiosks (it licenses the name from Blockbuster), announced yesterday that it will get Warner Home Video films 28 days after they're released.

NCR said the deal will help it reduce acquisition costs on films because it previously paid full price at retail to get new Warner Home Video movies into its kiosks. However, when it did so, the company sometimes had the films available in its kiosks on launch … Read more

Some BlockBuster Express kiosks will start offering new DVD and Blu-ray releases on the same day they go on sale, reports say.

According to the Dow Jones Newswires, NCR, the owner and operator of BlockBuster Express kiosks, inked the rental deals with Twentieth Century Fox Film and Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The company will be offering films for $2.99 on DVD or $3.99 on Blu-ray discs on the first rental night. The program is rolling out in a handful of test markets, including Atlanta, Miami, and San Francisco.

NCR, which licenses the BlockBuster Express name from the movie … Read more

As it fights for survival, video-rental chain Blockbuster is preparing to file bankruptcy next month, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

Blockbuster executives met with the six largest Hollywood film studios recently to brief them about the company's plan, the Times reported. The move by Blockbuster, which closed down nearly 1,000 retail stores in the past year, appears designed to help the company get out of leases on perhaps as many as 800 underperforming stores, according to the report. The chain operates more than 3,400 stores.

Blockbuster reportedly plans to file something called a &… Read more

Redbox, which has rented more than 880 million DVDs since its inception, is now starting to offer Blu-ray rentals at some of its 23,000 kiosks, the company announced Friday.

The company didn't provide too many details on its Blu-ray rentals. A new Blu-ray page is displayed on the company's site, saying simply that the company now rents the format. It also has a search box where users can input their ZIP codes to see if Blu-ray films are available in their area.

According to a Twitter update sent out earlier today on the official Redbox account, the … Read more

Movie Gallery, the once powerhouse video-rental chain, went bankrupt last spring and is now trying to sell off such assets as trademarks, URLs, and proprietary technology.

While the company's demise and liquidation means more bad news for traditional video rentals, it could be a boon for Web video start-ups. At its height five years ago, Movie Gallery operated 4,700 Hollywood Video and Movie Gallery stores and generated $2.5 billion in annual revenue. A Web video service looking to work under a well-known brand or glean insights from the company's sales and marketing data might find something … Read more

The hard times just keep slapping Blockbuster. The company announced Wednesday that it posted a $435 million loss for the fourth quarter.

The poor performance is especially hard, considering it happened in the fourth quarter--usually Blockbuster's best months. In the third quarter, the company lost over $114 million.

Back in September, the company announced that it would be closing up to 960 underperforming stores to increase its earnings by $50 million to $60 million. Blockbuster closed 374 U.S. stores last year and plans to accelerate its plans to shutter an additional 545 retail locations this year.

To revitalize … Read more

In a multiyear distribution agreement sure to spark controversy among users of Redbox Automated Retail machines, the video rental kiosk operator has agreed to refrain from renting newly released Warner Bros. DVDs for a period of 28 days.

The deal is similar to one Netflix made with Warner Bros. last month, prompting accusations that the video rental site was selling out to the studio. But in return for supporting a sales-only window following the immediate release of DVDs, a practice Warner Bros. hopes will help prompt movie fans to buy rather than rent, Netflix received something in return it badly … Read more