Redbox Subscription Still Coming - VideoNuze

Redbox Subscription Still Coming

Friday, February 18, 2011, 10:26 AM ET

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Posted by Will Richmond

Redbox's president was talking up his company's upcoming subscription video service this week, though no launch dates or partner were identified. Redbox has big-time Netflix-envy and clearly believes it can compete. That will be easier said than done.

First it needs streaming content, and the only way that will happen if it opens up its wallet big time. With the existing business under pressure, that will be a stretch. The other issue is that Redbox kiosks, while offering instant convenience, have a far narrower DVD selection than Netflix. I've stressed the differentiated value Netflix's deep DVD catalog provides, and until streaming content is ubiquitous, DVD selection will matter a lot, regardless of how excited people get about streaming. This is all the more true as studios lengthen 28-day DVD delay windows, which hurts Redbox's selection further.

Maybe Redbox has something unexpected up its sleeve, but from my vantage point, going toe-to-toe with Netflix is going to be very tough.

Categories: Aggregators, FIlms

Topics: Netflix, Redbox

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