Redbox Instant Shooting for Holiday Launch
Redbox and Verizon announced earlier this year that they would be teaming up on a Netflix-style streaming service dubbed Redbox Instant by Verizon. The horrendously named service went into alpha testing over the summer and is apparently still being tested internally by 500 Verzion employees. There are plans for a short public beta, but the emphasis will have to be on short, as Verizon and Redbox are reportedly looking to launch the service in November or December this year. There are still are not a lot of details about the service, but it sounds like the plan is for the service to focus more on movie content than TV content and subscribers will not only receive access to streaming movies, but also a limited number of Redbox kiosks rentals each month. The decision to focus on movie content rather than television content is probably being driven by the decision to pay content providers per subscriber rather than through blanket licensing, but it’s a good bet that it will also provide Redbox and Verizon a convenient excuse to sit out the “We now offer X pieces of content” boasting that accompanies every Netflix and Amazon press release, thus avoiding some unflattering camparisons in the process.
The Redbox Instant by Verizon joint venture wants to have its Netflix competitor up and running in time for the holidays, according to a Bloomberg report. A Verizon exec told the news agency that the service is currently being tested by 500 of its employees, and that there is going to be a short public beta test before it finally launches between late November and mid-December.