With the recent finalization of the Coinstar acquisition of Blockbuster Express, many had assumed the blue boxes would swiftly be shut down or converted into Redboxes. According to a recent email sent out from Blockbuster Express, however, the boxes will continue to “offer great movies at an exceptional value.”
A call from Home Media Magazine to a Blockbuster Express customer service representative yielded the following response as to the possible date of the BB Express shutdown:
“We don’t know an exact date, but I would say by the end of the summer,”
Unfortunately, BB Express returns cannot be made at Redbox kiosks. Groupon or promo codes from the blue boxes are similarly invalid at Redboxes. Blockbuster Express has also discontinued its in-stock guarantee on new release titles.
With 10,000 existing kiosks, it will likely take a while for Coinstar to digest/discard the entire BB Express brand. How long do you think Blockbuster Express kiosks will keep running in their current state?
[via Home Media Magazine]
We’re down from 1-2 dozen to 4 kiosks in this region. Are other areas seeing such a large reduction in locations? I assume the pulled machines are being remanufactured to Redbox requirements…
Not sure about that. Seems to me that if RB wanted more spots, they would have already moved in. Around here, there are plenty of RBs and very few BBE to be had (just like actual BB stores). This was the case LONG before BBE was acquired.
I’m expecting more double-RB units, as they expands their gaming investment. Right now, they only have a very few titles available…
Thats a really great photograph. Thanks for sharing it. Beautiful. R
Food Lion and Safeway locations are all that’s left. Looks like the 7-11’s, Walgreens and others are gone.