Look out Netflix, Verizon and Redbox team up for rentals and streaming Service

Leave it to Verizon to look for another way to capitalize with the color red. I’m surprised they haven’t made deals with Target yet. I a not so surprising move, Verizon has just announced that they are teaming up with Redbox to offer a simple and affordable way to get the movies you desire. Offering streamlined ways to rent, download and watch movies via your Verizon device. Looking to go head-to-head with Netflix.

We imagine that there will be a Redbox app pre-loaded or available to Verizon based devices. If they plan to compete directly with Netflix it will need to do a few things that Netflix can’t do. It will need to offer newer movies, which Redbox already does do. It will need to integrate a way for people to hit up a Redbox with their phone to rent physical movies, which won’t be hard since Redbox offers a way to order online and pick them up at a Redbox kiosk. Finally they will need to offer high quality streams to devices at an affordable price. IF the service is more than $10 a month or if they limit the number of movies you can stream, it could hurt the overall love for it. It should be interesting to see how they plan to implement the services.

Looking beyond the announcement though, if the service and availability is locked in just to Verizon it will create some pretty upset people. Having a service like Redbox locked in to one provider just doesn’t seem right to me. Hopefully, the services will be great and Redbox will want to expand and drop an app in the market too.

What do you guys think? I know Redbox is great and Netflix has licensing deal issues to bring the latest and greatest to their streaming service, but will Redbox be the answer to that? Will you pony up another monthly fee to Verizon or Redbox for more streaming media and physical discs? Unless the app goes to all products and is similarly priced, I don’t see myself getting all that excited.

Verizon and Coinstar’s Redbox Form Joint Venture to Create New Consumer Choice for Video Entertainment

Joint Venture Will Offer the Best of Both Worlds – Physical and Digital – to All Consumers Nationwide

NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Verizon and Coinstar, Inc. today announced the formation of a joint venture that will create a new choice for quality- and value-conscious consumers seeking a simple and affordable way to access the video entertainment they crave. The venture’s services will offer all of the convenience, simplicity and value of Redbox® new release DVD and Blu-ray Disc® rentals combined with a new content-rich video on-demand streaming and download service from Verizon.

The joint venture plans to introduce the product portfolio in the second half of 2012. It will offer subscription services and more in an easy-to-use, flexible and affordable service that will allow all consumers across the U.S. to enjoy the new and popular entertainment they want, whenever they choose, using the media and devices they prefer. Additional brand and product information will be revealed in the coming months.

“When you consider the core elements the parties bring to this venture – our powerful brands; our national rental kiosk footprint; our anytime, anywhere network presence; and our mutual commitment to customer-focused innovation – it’s clear that Verizon and Redbox are a powerful entertainment team,” said Bob Mudge, president of Verizon consumer and mass business markets.

“Consumers rely on Redbox for the latest new release movies at a great value, and our joint venture with Verizon will enable us to bring them even more value by offering expanded content offerings and greater flexibility for how and when they enjoy entertainment,” said Paul Davis, chief executive officer of Coinstar, Inc. “This alliance is the result of a deliberate and strategic process to identify a partner who shares our commitment to delivering innovative solutions to consumers. We look forward to rolling out the shared benefits this venture will bring to consumers, retailers, and shareholders.”

This venture between Verizon and Redbox will create the kind of national multi-platform product that customers are demanding from video entertainment service providers. It will leverage Verizon’s industry-wide relationships with entertainment content providers, its advanced cloud computing technologies and state-of-the-art IP network infrastructure to distribute video on-demand content to its customers.

“The joint venture will combine the accessibility and value of Redbox with Verizon’s vision for a borderless lifestyle – where consumers easily accomplish what they want or need to do, on their terms, through the power of the network,” said Mudge. “Together, we are erasing old technology boundaries, freeing people to spontaneously enjoy the entertainment they want, whenever they choose, using the devices and media they prefer, at home or away.”

By offering instantly available online and mobile content with immediate access to physical media through rental kiosks, Verizon and Redbox will be uniquely positioned to deliver the best of both worlds – digital and physical – to consumers across the country.

The joint venture is a limited liability company with Verizon holding a 65 percent ownership share and Redbox holding a 35 percent ownership share at the outset.