Redbox parent Coinstar is in a grabby mood this week, not only teaming with Verizon to create a streaming service to compete with Netflix, but buying Blockbuster Express kiosk-operator NCR’s entertainment vision, meaning all its rival kiosks will probably be taking on a reddish hue.
Engadget relays a Coinstar press release that says the company paid $100 million for NCR’s kiosks, discs and contracts with retailers.
The transaction should be completed in the third quarter of this year, but there’s no official word yet on when the expected Blockbuster Express-to-Redbox kiosk transfer should occur.
As the Blockbuster name continues to swirl the drain, try not to get nostalgic about the days in which your weekend rental choices were limited to whatever few dozen movies Blockbuster saw fit to stock.
Redbox snatches up NCR’s entertainment division, swallows Blockbuster Express business [Engadget]
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You said Redbox snatches, tee hee…
While I think competition is good, there’s no BBE kiosks (Or BB B&M’s) anywhere near me, but there’s lots of Redboxes, and thus, no competition. Maybe this will somehow result in a better selection of movies for me?
Also, I’m going to have to buy in a Blu-ray player. Too many times since they started renting Blu-ray, I’ve gone to Redbox only to find a good movie only available on Blu-ray. Since the price increase, it’s only $.30 more to rent on Blu-ray.
Awesome! I think there’s probably one or two BB kiosks near us, and having a Redbox closer would be cool. However I think where the BB boxes are, there’s a Redbox right across the street already.
I like how Blockbuster has succeeded in making the experience of their store closings available in kiosk form.
Yeah, it’s totally nostalgic.
Makes me glad that I missed the store closings of local Blockbusters; between one rental and the return, the store was just suddenly shuttered. Not even a massive “Hey we’re selling everything, come and get ‘em!”
Sadly, the kiosks don’t include the best part of Blockbuster going under: discounted popcorn. Mmm, hot buttered Netflix at home…
I don’t recall seeing any Blockbuster kiosks around here; I thought they already gave ‘em up. Does BB have anything left to their name?
Pretty much everything BB is owned by Dish Network now.
The kiosks are owned and operated by NCR, not Blockbuster. They just licensed the name from BB.
Even though Blockbuster is gone, I will never forget the unique smell they all had when you walked in.
Despair has a smell?
Smelled like nerd sweat…. Kind of how Best Buy smells now.
Best Buy smells like nerd sweat? I don’t know how that could be, they don’t really employ any nerds… Maybe they’re spraying “eau de nerd” in their stores, ala Hollister?
They are trying to draw them in with pheromones.
Pretty sure you could still get the same nerd sweat aroma by going to a Ring of Honor show. Ain’t no scent like Eau de Unwashed Wrestling Fanboy. (gags)
Maybe it was loneliness–going there all alone on a Friday night to look at the new releases…
Generic plastic VHS cases had a particular smell to them.
The Strawberry Shortcake VHS cases smelled like strawberries though.
When I think Blockbuster, I think back to the early 90s, taking my allowance and renting the newest Genesis game. Good times.
Or when you could rent a Nintendo 64 for a few nights. Ah, those were the days.
They may have shut down their stores and kiosks but Blockbuster has been successful in keeping their app permanently installed on my phone.
That will be the last bastion of Blockbuster, unless Verizon (in our case at least) finally removes it, or everyone roots.
Works for me. I use the BBX kiosk in the local Safeway because it’s close to home, never crowded, and mighty convenient. All the nearby Redboxes are located in busy WalMarts, McDonalds, and the like. I don’t really care whose name is on the DVD kiosk in Safeway, just as long as there’s a DVD kiosk in Safeway.
If only they would replace the kiosk hardware with those unit that have a seperate return slot I don’t care whose name is on it. I usually only use them to retiurn DVDs the wife rents anyways, so not having to wait for an indecisive renter would make my Redbox experience more pleasant. Maybe I’d even rent some myself!
Until them I borrow DVDs from my local library. Works just as well and it doesn’t cost me anything besides the taxes I already am stuck with.
I guess the government doesn’t think this will be a monopoly that anyone gives a damn about so they won’t try to block any sale.
Once Blockbuster popped their rental prices up to $3 for new releases, I never used them again. Redbox always had most of the same movies at almost a third of the price. I even have 8 $1 Blockbuster Express coupons left from a deal I got months ago, and have trouble finding anything in their $1 rentals worth renting. Either it’s so old I already rented it from Redbox months ago, or even older and I can watch it on Netflix. Perhaps the $3-$2-$1 pricing strategy worked in some markets, but in my area there is a 3 to 1 ratio of Redboxes to BBX boxes, and all they did was shoot themselves in the foot. I know that Blockbuster Express is (was) actually NCR licensing the name, but I can’t help but wonder if, just for kicks, some ex-Blockbuster employee whispered in their ear that they could make more money if they tripled their prices.
I’ve been a very regular user of both RB & BBX. I was fine with both when they were only $1 and also had free codes available often. Then late last year, Redbox increased to $1.20 and tightened down on their freebies, so I went more to BBX. But then they went to the $3-2-1 pricing, and as the poster above said, the only $1 DVDs were ones that I’d gotten long before at RB, and BBX’s $3 new releases could be had down the road at RB for $1.20. While having more total Redboxes available is nice, them having a monopoly is disturbing, and it’s only a matter of time until they go to $1.50 or $2, or a multi-tier pricing scheme. If that happens, given their limited selection and lack of convenience of kiosks in having waiting in line and either deal with parking at a big store or being outdoors in the cold and rain, I may return to my Blockbuster brick ‘n’ mortar store—while it’s still open (yes, we still have one, for now).
My biggest concern right now is a bunch of Groupon codes I have for BBX that are good through May 2013. I’ve not gotten a straight answer from either company whether these will still be valid after the Redbox invasion.