Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
08-09-09, 12:28 AM
#1
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Thread Starter
Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
Wasn't sure were I should post this.
I'm against what Fox is doing and what Universal Pictures did.
greedy MF.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/16989...d_rentals.html
I'm against what Fox is doing and what Universal Pictures did.
greedy MF.
Hollywood has a problem. It's red, boxy, lets you rent DVDs for $1 a night, and is severely threatening movie studios from making money. The threat is Redbox self-serve DVD rental kiosks outside McDonalds and in grocery stores.
The Associated Press reports earlier this week 20th Century Fox ordered its wholesalers not to sell DVD discs to Redbox until 30 days after a movie's initial release to help boost retail sales.
This came a day after Redbox's parent company, Coinstar, reported a 110 percent revenue increase in the second quarter of this year while DVD sales fell 13.5 percent in the first half of the year.
Fox isn't the first studio to play hardball with the kiosk company. Last year, Universal Pictures and Redbox got in a scuffle after the studio tried to push a 45-delay waiting period. When Redbox objected, Universal cut off its supply.
Redbox now has to buy Universal movies at retail stores, the cost of which could significantly cut into its profit (each disc only makes around $25 in rentals, according to estimates.)
Not all studios are downers on cheap rentals. Earlier this month, Sony agreed to sell cheaper discs to Redbox. The contract also stated that Redbox was to destroy the discs after renting them instead of selling them as previewed for $7 each.
The companies acknowledge their decisions will ultimately have an effect on the consumer, but without $15 per DVD, there is no movie industry.
My recommendation to Hollywood: When you make a movie worth $15, we'll pay $15 for it. In the meantime, you are lucky that people are paying $1 a night for some of the Rotten Tomatoes you're putting out there.
The Associated Press reports earlier this week 20th Century Fox ordered its wholesalers not to sell DVD discs to Redbox until 30 days after a movie's initial release to help boost retail sales.
This came a day after Redbox's parent company, Coinstar, reported a 110 percent revenue increase in the second quarter of this year while DVD sales fell 13.5 percent in the first half of the year.
Fox isn't the first studio to play hardball with the kiosk company. Last year, Universal Pictures and Redbox got in a scuffle after the studio tried to push a 45-delay waiting period. When Redbox objected, Universal cut off its supply.
Redbox now has to buy Universal movies at retail stores, the cost of which could significantly cut into its profit (each disc only makes around $25 in rentals, according to estimates.)
Not all studios are downers on cheap rentals. Earlier this month, Sony agreed to sell cheaper discs to Redbox. The contract also stated that Redbox was to destroy the discs after renting them instead of selling them as previewed for $7 each.
The companies acknowledge their decisions will ultimately have an effect on the consumer, but without $15 per DVD, there is no movie industry.
My recommendation to Hollywood: When you make a movie worth $15, we'll pay $15 for it. In the meantime, you are lucky that people are paying $1 a night for some of the Rotten Tomatoes you're putting out there.
08-09-09, 12:48 AM
#2
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Thread Starter
Re: Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
Families love Redbox, but for how long?
For families with tight entertainment budgets, Redbox has been a godsend. Featuring $1 DVD rentals at its 17,900 kiosks in the U.S., Redbox has been a welcome alternative to more expensive options such as Blockbuster and Hollywood Video.
Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that Hollywood studios share our excitement. Instead of supplying Redbox with wholesale discs, 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures have decided to withhold DVDs for 30 days after its DVD release.
What's this mean for Redbox? According to the Associated Press, "Lack of studio supply forces Redbox to buy discs from regular retailers — just like an individual might go to Wal-Mart or Best Buy — cutting into profits and stifling its growth."
In short, studios are concerned about consumers getting too comfortable renting and buying DVDs at bargain prices through Redbox. Instead, studios like to focus on true revenue-makers, including stores with higher rental prices, Netflix and regular DVD sales at the big-box stores. So far, only Sony Pictures has agreed to a deal with Redbox to allow new releases to be available without delay.
The good news is that Redbox isn't planning on giving into Fox or Universal. On Friday, Redbox officials said they'll continue to offer DVDs on their release date. Whether this will make financial sense for Redbox remains to be seen.
As a frequent Redbox customer, it's easy to see why the studios are worried. Since we discovered Redbox over a year ago, we've visited Blockbuster maybe once or twice. Once you've paid $1 to rent a DVD for the night, it's hard to justify going to Blockbuster and spending nearly $6 to rent the same movie. Plus, Redbox offers the convenience of renting a movie at one location and returning anywhere else there's a Redbox kiosk. This is huge when it comes to renting DVDs for the eight-hour road trip with the kids.
That said, the selection at Redbox can be a little thin, especially for family-friendly films. There are about 45 family films available via Redbox right now, but most of them have been there for awhile. (You can only watch "Hotel for Dogs" so many times.) Ideally, Redbox will be able to expand its database and give families even greater options.
And despite its current battle with the studios, the future appears bright for Redbox, which plans on opening 8,500 new kiosks this year. There's also talk of Redbox expanding into video games for the Wii, Playstation 3, and XBox 360. Look for kiosks to start appearing soon. All this is music to my kids' ears, because they know dad isn't going back to Blockbuster anytime soon.
Your turn: If Redbox ends up having to wait 30 days for new releases, will you turn to Netflix or Blockbuster instead? Should Redbox just agree to share more revenue with the studios to resolve the situation?
http://www.examiner.com/x-18496-Fres...ood-to-be-true
For families with tight entertainment budgets, Redbox has been a godsend. Featuring $1 DVD rentals at its 17,900 kiosks in the U.S., Redbox has been a welcome alternative to more expensive options such as Blockbuster and Hollywood Video.
Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that Hollywood studios share our excitement. Instead of supplying Redbox with wholesale discs, 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures have decided to withhold DVDs for 30 days after its DVD release.
What's this mean for Redbox? According to the Associated Press, "Lack of studio supply forces Redbox to buy discs from regular retailers — just like an individual might go to Wal-Mart or Best Buy — cutting into profits and stifling its growth."
In short, studios are concerned about consumers getting too comfortable renting and buying DVDs at bargain prices through Redbox. Instead, studios like to focus on true revenue-makers, including stores with higher rental prices, Netflix and regular DVD sales at the big-box stores. So far, only Sony Pictures has agreed to a deal with Redbox to allow new releases to be available without delay.
The good news is that Redbox isn't planning on giving into Fox or Universal. On Friday, Redbox officials said they'll continue to offer DVDs on their release date. Whether this will make financial sense for Redbox remains to be seen.
As a frequent Redbox customer, it's easy to see why the studios are worried. Since we discovered Redbox over a year ago, we've visited Blockbuster maybe once or twice. Once you've paid $1 to rent a DVD for the night, it's hard to justify going to Blockbuster and spending nearly $6 to rent the same movie. Plus, Redbox offers the convenience of renting a movie at one location and returning anywhere else there's a Redbox kiosk. This is huge when it comes to renting DVDs for the eight-hour road trip with the kids.
That said, the selection at Redbox can be a little thin, especially for family-friendly films. There are about 45 family films available via Redbox right now, but most of them have been there for awhile. (You can only watch "Hotel for Dogs" so many times.) Ideally, Redbox will be able to expand its database and give families even greater options.
And despite its current battle with the studios, the future appears bright for Redbox, which plans on opening 8,500 new kiosks this year. There's also talk of Redbox expanding into video games for the Wii, Playstation 3, and XBox 360. Look for kiosks to start appearing soon. All this is music to my kids' ears, because they know dad isn't going back to Blockbuster anytime soon.
Your turn: If Redbox ends up having to wait 30 days for new releases, will you turn to Netflix or Blockbuster instead? Should Redbox just agree to share more revenue with the studios to resolve the situation?
http://www.examiner.com/x-18496-Fres...ood-to-be-true
08-09-09, 01:06 AM
#3
Re: Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
Gosh, I wish there was some place on this message board where we could post OTHER topics that don't fit in tidy with regular topics in the main forums.
(Though I probably would have shot for "Store Forum" myself)
But what do I know. We had a thread on freezing bread on this board before, so what the heck.
(Though I probably would have shot for "Store Forum" myself)
But what do I know. We had a thread on freezing bread on this board before, so what the heck.
08-09-09, 02:22 AM
#6
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
I think this is a crappy move on the movie studios part, especially with the state of the economy. If a movie is good, I'll buy it on Blu-Ray...if I've never seen a movie, has received so-so reviews or is something that may look interesting, renting it for a $1 is more than reasonable.
08-09-09, 02:23 AM
#7
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
And a manager at Blockbuster told me they had to pay higher than retail prices for copies that they rent and that is why they sometimes do not get certain titles. I'm not sure who to believe here. If that is true and Redbox only as to pay retail price then they are getting off cheap.
08-09-09, 12:43 PM
#9
Banned by request
Re: Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
No, because even $1 theaters contribute to a movie's total gross. Iron Man and Indy both had something like a 300% boost from their previous week's gross when they went to dollar theaters. It's a silly numerical game but the studios play it.
08-09-09, 01:12 PM
#11
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
I'm sure consumers are pissed in general because they get less for their money (or more accurately have to wait more for the same item). But there's no right to have movies on realease date. And this should, in theory, increase revenues. Yeah, a lot of that revenue goes into pockets of executives and Hollywood stars, but even if a little goes to making some other film, I'm cool by it. If it's a bad move, the free market should shake it out in the end.
08-09-09, 03:33 PM
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Re: Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
I don't see anything improper in the studios actions here. They have the right to decide to whom and when they give wholesale discounts.
08-09-09, 03:39 PM
#13
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
Just to use another example, look at iTunes. On release date, most movies aren't available to rent, only to purchase. It's very similar to the PPV model from years ago where a film wouldn't hit the PPV service anywhere from 30 - 60 days after it's video release date. Times have changed since then where some studios have embraced everything on it's video release date (Warner), but I can see where some studios are upset due to better technology at a cheaper price point hurting their profit share.
Personally, I don't use Redbox. Never have, never will. I use Netflix for the Blu-ray availability plus Instant Watch on my XBOX. Even with a model like Netflix, it's sometimes difficult to get new releases on street date. I, for one, am not hurt by it because I have an extensive queue with titles I still haven't seen.
Personally, I don't use Redbox. Never have, never will. I use Netflix for the Blu-ray availability plus Instant Watch on my XBOX. Even with a model like Netflix, it's sometimes difficult to get new releases on street date. I, for one, am not hurt by it because I have an extensive queue with titles I still haven't seen.
Last edited by Matthew Chmiel; 08-09-09 at 03:41 PM.
08-09-09, 03:53 PM
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Re: Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
The Associated Press reports earlier this week 20th Century Fox ordered its wholesalers not to sell DVD discs to Redbox until 30 days after a movie's initial release to help boost piracy.
08-09-09, 04:29 PM
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Re: Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
OK well what about big libraries that get dozens of or close to 100 or more copies of big movies on release day that people can check out for free for an extended period of time? Studios aren't mad about that?
08-09-09, 04:37 PM
#17
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
Also, with second-run theaters, the studios still see some revenue from it. While it's not huge by any stretch of the imagination, some films are able to bring in a few extra dollars when they hit a second-run based off people seeing it on multiple occasions or people who waited to see it. Films like Star Trek and Night at the Museum are playing throughout second-run theaters across the country right now and are still being able to pull in $500,000 weekends despite being out for over 12 weeks.
08-09-09, 04:51 PM
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Re: Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
A major film like the Dark Knight for example has 111 copies currently in the system and they were at the libraries on release week. Even recent DVD's like the Soloist (59 copies) Race to Witch Mountain (63 copes) , Watchmen (71 copies)m, etc. are all new and feature more copes than most single video stores do.
Why dont studios get pissed over the libraries as well?. Surely they lose just as much if not more from people seeing films this way that they do from Redbox (which i have never and prob. will never use) or similar venues.
08-09-09, 06:10 PM
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08-10-09, 05:44 PM
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Re: Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
It's not without reason. Remember that in the old days renting companies had to pay huge prices per copy of the film as it had a renting window around it? They've figured that they could make more money selling through to customers now and want to maximize the amount of buyers are there for the product. Nothing new there, folks.
08-10-09, 07:26 PM
#22
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
The reason why I subscribe to Netflix. Netflix is simplistic. Redbox is still "retail," just without the human interaction. I have to get out of my car, possibly wait in a line --- and with my luck, I'll be waiting behind some dipshit or two who doesn't know what they want to rent. If I wanted that same experience, I'd go to Blockbuster or Hollywood Video where I can grab what I want and bounce.
With Netflix, there are no late fees as I'm paying monthly. The entire services just requires me to walk out my house, go to my mailbox, and I'm finished. Hell, for quite a few titles, I don't even need to get my ass off the couch.
While I don't like "On Demand" service for owning (I like my physical media), it makes life so much easier in terms of renting.
With Netflix, there are no late fees as I'm paying monthly. The entire services just requires me to walk out my house, go to my mailbox, and I'm finished. Hell, for quite a few titles, I don't even need to get my ass off the couch.
While I don't like "On Demand" service for owning (I like my physical media), it makes life so much easier in terms of renting.
08-10-09, 07:36 PM
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Re: Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
The reason why I subscribe to Netflix. Netflix is simplistic. Redbox is still "retail," just without the human interaction. I have to get out of my car, possibly wait in a line --- and with my luck, I'll be waiting behind some dipshit or two who doesn't know what they want to rent. If I wanted that same experience, I'd go to Blockbuster or Hollywood Video where I can grab what I want and bounce.
With Netflix, there are no late fees as I'm paying monthly. The entire services just requires me to walk out my house, go to my mailbox, and I'm finished. Hell, for quite a few titles, I don't even need to get my ass off the couch.
While I don't like "On Demand" service for owning (I like my physical media), it makes life so much easier in terms of renting.
With Netflix, there are no late fees as I'm paying monthly. The entire services just requires me to walk out my house, go to my mailbox, and I'm finished. Hell, for quite a few titles, I don't even need to get my ass off the couch.
While I don't like "On Demand" service for owning (I like my physical media), it makes life so much easier in terms of renting.
Coupling Series 1-4
The IT Crowd Series 1-2
The Office (UK) Series 1-2 + Special
Friday Night Lights Season 2
Jericho Complete Series
Dear Zachary
Dead Like Me: Life After Death (sucked balls)
Some quality stuff there.
08-10-09, 07:57 PM
#24
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Re: Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
I have no hatred for Redbox. In fact, I love them. I've never used them and I never plan on it. But, they are a threat to Netflix, which makes them provide better service and be innovative. I'm all for competition. 
08-10-09, 08:04 PM
#25
Member
Re: Hollywood Hates Redbox's $1 DVD Rentals
I don't use Redbox much because I prefer to rent Blu-ray from Netflix. Redbox is cool because you can reserve a movie online and go pick it up so you don't waste a trip looking for a movie. My Redbox is 60 seconds from my house. If a movie isn't there I can drive a few miles and pick it up and return it to my 'local' Redbox. That is convenience.