Redbox, Verizon team on hybrid Internet, disc movie service
updated 09:35 am EST, Mon February 6, 2012
Redbox, Verizon to give downloads, streams, discs
Redbox and Verizon started the week with word of creating an all-encompassing movie service. The strategy would see Verizon provide movie downloads and streaming while Redbox supplied new Blu-ray and DVD discs to rent. While details were short, it would have subscriptions "and more," all while making sure viewers had access on the "media and devices they prefer."
As a joint venture, Verizon would hold the controlling stake at 65 percent, with Redbox holding 35 percent. It's implied that Redbox may gain a larger share over time.
Service would start sometime in the second half of 2012. Details of the project's name and its pricing system would be made public closer to that point.
The union is conspicuously established as a Netflix rival and would be one of the first to more directly emulate its model of both an Internet service to catch the majority of users and physical discs to cover movies that aren't available online. It may still face an uphill battle, since it's less likely to have the device ubiquity of Netflix and won't necessarily match the pay-per-show catalog of a store like iTunes.
