The Wall Street Journal reports that NCR Corp. plans to install 200 of its Blockbuster DVD rental kiosks in Duane Reade drug stores throughout New York City, a move that the paper suggests means that CR is making inroads against the Redbox DVD rental machines.
Redbox, which is owned by Coinstar, has more than 20,000 locations around the country, while it looks like NCR will have just 2,500 by the end of the year - and executives there believe that the Blockbuster branding gives it an advantage as it tries to play catch up.
The Journal notes that the growth in the DVD kiosk business has broader business implications: “For physical DVDs, the Blockbuster kiosks match Redbox's $1-a-night rental price, which many studios say devalues their product and may deter consumers from purchasing DVDs. It also is likely costing Blockbuster stores customers, where rentals can run $4.99 for a week's rental of a new movie. Studios get a cut of rental revenue from stores, but not from kiosks. News Corp.'s Twentieth-Century Fox, Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. and General Electric Co.'s Universal Pictures have tried to block Redbox's access to new movies, landing them in litigation with the retailer.”
Redbox, which is owned by Coinstar, has more than 20,000 locations around the country, while it looks like NCR will have just 2,500 by the end of the year - and executives there believe that the Blockbuster branding gives it an advantage as it tries to play catch up.
The Journal notes that the growth in the DVD kiosk business has broader business implications: “For physical DVDs, the Blockbuster kiosks match Redbox's $1-a-night rental price, which many studios say devalues their product and may deter consumers from purchasing DVDs. It also is likely costing Blockbuster stores customers, where rentals can run $4.99 for a week's rental of a new movie. Studios get a cut of rental revenue from stores, but not from kiosks. News Corp.'s Twentieth-Century Fox, Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. and General Electric Co.'s Universal Pictures have tried to block Redbox's access to new movies, landing them in litigation with the retailer.”
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