Redbox Planning To Go Head To Head Against Netflix With Streaming Service

Well, it looks like the war currently raging amongst the major video rental chains/companies, it looks like things may have just gotten a bit interesting.

According to a report by Bloomberg, Redbox is in the midst of looking to the web to help change their business model, as they are getting set to launch a new streaming, subscription based rental service, which has been in talks since April.

The company has talked about a $3.95 service, which would cover both unlimited online streaming, as well as four rentals a month from their kiosks. This would basically be the price of four rentals, with the added bonus of unlimited streaming. This would be roughly half of the price of a Netflix subscription, and would join the likes of Best Buy’s RoxioNow, whose parent company, Sonic Solutions, would be the likely company to have their technology licensed for this project. However, the source of this technology is still up in the air, and so is the big ground that the company will have to make.

I’ve been rather loud about my disdain for Redbox, and if streaming the latest 50 Cent film straight to your TV is what you want, then go for it. However, the company hasn’t gotten films I’ve been wanting to rent in their kiosks, so I doubt that they will make much ground in the streaming game. I’ll stick with my $9 subscription, as the quality of Netflix is worth far more than $5.

What do you think?

Source: Bloomberg