Despite some well-publicized missteps and setbacks, Netflix remains one of the power players in the movie rental business. Their streaming content library continues to grow, and at least some of the company’s attention remains fixed on its shrinking but still robust DVD business. But is Netflix missing an opportunity?
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It’s been stated repeatedly here and in many other places: consumers have (probably permanently) shifted away from an “own” mindset to a “rent” one when it comes to home entertainment. The second quarter results for the sales of physical media underline this shift: sales of packaged goods such as DVDs dropped 16.3%. At the same time, DVD-by-mail and streaming video-on-demand grew more than 24%, while kiosk rentals were up nearly 37%.
A very hot topic in the home entertainment industry recently has been premium VOD. Proponents and opponents of the new service have been very vocal and passionate about their viewpoints, and some of Hollywood’s heaviest hitters have weighed in on the matter.
What exactly is premium VOD? Why is it causing such an uproar? Will it be around for the long haul or is it just a passing thing? Our viewpoints on the subject are after the jump.
It’s Thanksgiving again, that time of year when we gather with family and friends, stuff ourselves, and make our shopping plans for Black Friday.
Another Thanksgiving tradition for many is to recount all of the things that we are grateful for. Like many of you, Insiders, the Inside Redbox team has a lot to be thankful for this year, and we’d like to share our (home entertainment-related) list with you.
It’s an expensive cycle, building a home video library. Just when consumers had filled their cabinets with VHS tapes of their favorite movies, the DVD came out. With its smaller size, clearer picture and wealth of extras and options, DVD became the format of choice for millions in rounding out their video collections. Finally, a few years ago, Blu-ray defeated HD DVD to become the next generation format.
Blockbuster, the blue behemoth of the video rental scene, has gone bankrupt. Just a few short years ago, the idea would have seemed almost laughable, as the then-unstoppable BB clobbered one video store after another during its ascendancy. Unfortunately for Blockbuster, consumers are even more fickle than fortune, as the masses quickly grew tired of high rental prices and draconian policies as cheaper options became available.
Don’t gasp at the title of this post—we’re not announcing the demise of our favorite DVD rental kiosks. We’re just wondering aloud (at least as loudly as you can over the Internet) what the DVD rental world would be like today if Redbox had never come along.
By offering cheap, convenient DVD rentals from kiosks across the country, Coinstar has helped make the verb “Redbox” part of the cultural lexicon. For millions of Americans over the last few years, “Let’s Redbox,” has become a common statement. Since this blog is largely read by people who like to Redbox (along with a few haters), we thought it would be interesting to see just how often the Insiders are Redboxing.
In just a few short years, Redbox has gone from a quirky little afterthought of consumers’ McDonald’s visits to one of the major players in the movie rental market. It has bartered and battled with titans of the movie industry, and had its share of both victories and setbacks. Through it all, the concept has remained elegantly (and maddeningly to some) simple: rent a DVD for a buck a night.
Like many of you, Insiders, I sat in a darkened theater a few months ago wearing goofy glasses and was taken to another world. James Cameron’s Avatar demonstrated how far 3D technology has come and what it is capable of. Though it has gone in and out of vogue over the decades, the last year or so has seen a surge in the number of films released in 3D, and theater owners are scrambling to install 3D systems across the country. Read the rest of this entry »
