Most of us have heard of Redbox but many are still unfamiliar with Redbox On Demand. Redbox On Demand launched about a year ago to help keep the company afloat. With Netflix, Hulu and other streaming services growing more popular, the DVD kiosks operated by Redbox have lost a large amount of traffic and revenue. While there are still Redbox kiosks in operation, the company’s focus is shifting to its streaming service.
Now, in an effort to expand and gain more subscribers, Redbox On Demand has expanded to VIZIO TVs with SmartCast. The service is already available on Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Samsung, LG, and mobile devices.
“Our expansion to Vizio SmartCast TVs brings Redbox On Demand to millions of families directly from their couches,” Yates said. “As we head into 2019, we’ll continue to focus on the importance of device expansion to make our app available on as many devices as possible.”
Amazingly enough, I still see Redbox kiosks in many locations, and people still use them. Most new first-run movies aren’t always available on services like Netflix and Hulu, so it makes sense that the medium isn’t completely dead. But as studios like Disney start their own streaming services, that could change in the near future. Studios could start offering their first-run movies on their own streaming services at the time of the DVD/Blu-Ray release.
Still, Redbox kiosks may still have several years of life in them. The cost of renting a Redbox disc one time versus a monthly premium is low. So many consumers might find it more cost effective to just rent the movies they want from Redbox for cheaper than paying a monthly premium for movies they may never watch.
But Redbox isn’t dumb, which is why they created Redbox On Demand. They know the trend to adopt streaming services is growing.
A year later, Redbox On Demand has “surpassed major milestones to become a real player in the competitive digital home entertainment space,” said Redbox CEO Galen Smith. “We’re seeing hundreds of thousands of customers, including bringing back folks we haven’t seen in a while.”
More than 50% of Redbox On Demand transactions are from people who have either stopped renting discs at Redbox kiosks or never patronized Redbox before, according to Smith.
What do you think of Redbox On Demand expanding to VIZIO TVs? Do you subscribe to the service? Let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook. You can also comment on our MeWe page by joining the MeWe social network.
Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
