It’s because streaming is unavailable for large numbers of those people. One of the biggest reasons that Redbox has all those kiosks isn’t because people just don’t want streaming. It has even set up a distribution deal with the producers of the “John Wick” franchise to bring 12 original action movies to the service.Īll this is an excellent idea, but Smith seems to either ignore or be largely unaware of one key point: the digital divide. It has already established deals with Lionsgate, Legendary Entertainment, and several other production houses to bring more content to the service. Redbox is already starting to build its partnership base. Moreover, Smith says, he wants Redbox to include movies, something that he says those services do not do as well. Therefore, he revealed, it is a golden opportunity for Redbox to branch out and become the type of service - like a Crackle or Tubi - for customers who have never actually heard of it. Smith notes that, while he’s well aware of the existence of these platforms, his customer base, largely, is not. If that sounds to you a lot like other streaming video platforms in the market, like Crackle or Tubi, then you’re not alone in that assessment. The Redbox app boasts not only ad-supported content, but also transactional content - the kind you pay for upfront, as well as more than 120 channels of live television. So right now, Redbox is regarding its streaming capabilities as more of a value-add than a potential replacement for discs. Redbox’s customers, according to Smith, are generally “later adopters” of technology, for whom the “full switch to digital” is still a work in progress, if at all. About the only platform that won’t allow access to the Redbox streaming app is Amazon Fire TV, and Redbox is working frantically to bring that last holdout into the fold. Redbox has already had a streaming app in place since last December. Smith noted that the plan isn’t exactly new. With such a listing comes a lot more scrutiny as analysts start going over records with a collection of fine-toothed combs, looking to make recommendations about the purchase of Redbox stock. This is the week that Redbox became a publicly-traded company, with shares available for purchase on NASDAQ. Smith detailed the plan in an already-big week for Redbox. No, according to Smith, Redbox is out to make a strategy work that even Netflix has mostly given up on: bringing together streaming and disc rentals into one place. That’s one major market, and a recent interview with Redbox CEO Galen Smith shows that Redbox isn’t planning to let that market stop at just picking up and dropping off DVDs.
That’s how many Redbox locations are waiting, right now, to dispense DVDs into the hands of eager movie buffs.