Redbox is ready for a fight.
According to the LA Times, Redbox President Mitch Lowe said that his company will soon offer a subscription-based service, offering both Internet streaming and access to discs through kiosks. Basically, RedBox will be exactly like Netflix, except with non-streamable titles, subscribers will have to get off their butts and find the nearest kiosk.
This service could work both positively and negatively for Redbox. For starters, Netflix has over 20 million subscribers to its DVD-by-mail and Internet streaming subscription plan. That’s a large amount of movie watchers. And if those users are like us, they’re already very invested in the site — with settings, recommendations, already-watched flicks, etc.
But Redbox may have an advantage because with Netflix, there’s still that pesky issue of instant gratification. If a title isn’t available to stream online, a subscriber has no choice but to wait at least two days for the DVD to arrive in the mail. With its kiosks, Redbox offers the chance to watch any title at any moment — all a user has to do is head to the nearest gas station or grocery store. Plus, there’s also rumors that Redbox will team with Amazon.com for its streaming content.
Regardless, as movie buffs we’re interested to see who emerges the victor. Personally, we’d like to see the two CEOs have a cage match, with the winner only proclaimed after he drinks the blood of his opponent while holding their still-beating heart above his head, diabolically laughing, screaming “ONLINE STREAMING IS MINE!” That’s something we’d pay for.
Source: LA Times
