outerwall

thekirbster

Private Equity Firm Buys $1.6 Billion In Redbox DVDs And Coinstar Change

Outerwall, the company behind the seemingly ubiquitous Redbox and Coinstar kiosks, hasn’t been doing so well lately. When both DVDs and cash are losing popularity, what should a company with a business model that depends on people using both do? The company’s new owner, Apollo Global Management, will help it to figure that out without the pressure of worrying about the stock price. [More]

Redbox President Steps Down As DVD Kiosk Business Struggles (Yes, Redbox Still Exists)

Redbox President Steps Down As DVD Kiosk Business Struggles (Yes, Redbox Still Exists)

Let’s get one thing out of the way before we start: yes, Redbox still exists. But because many folks would rather get instance access to a digital version of their desired flick, rather than leave the house to visit a DVD kiosk to rent a movie and then have to return it later, business is not doing so well, prompting the company’s president to fly the coop after less than two years on the job. [More]

Sorry Canada, No More Redbox For You

Sorry Canada, No More Redbox For You

Bad news for our readers to the north: Redbox DVD-rental kiosks are going the way of, well… DVD rental in general, with the announcement the the boxes days are numbered in Canada. [More]

Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Redbox Instant Streaming Service Is Dead

Redbox Instant seemed like a great idea when it launched at the beginning of 2013. A partnership between Redbox and Verizon, the service planned to compete with Netflix while offering one thing that Netflix couldn’t: bonus instant DVD rentals from Redbox’s in-person kiosks. It seemed like the two services could coexist happily. They couldn’t. Redbox Instant will shut down tomorrow night, at 11:59 PM Pacific time. [More]

(The Joy Of The Mundane)

Coinstar Wants To Cash In Your Gift Cards

Do you have any gift cards sitting around that you would rather turn into cash? Now that I’ve mentioned it, do you want those gift cards gone right now? Coinstar will be happy to make that happen for you at any of their more than 400 instant-gratification Coinstar Exchange kiosks. [More]