M+E Daily

Redbox Rolls Out $1.50-A-Night Blu-ray Rentals Nationwide

As Redbox president Mitch Lowe hinted at the Entertainment Supply Chain Academy conference in June, the company is rolling out Blu-ray rentals in its kiosks nationwide for $1.50 a night.

Redbox stated in a press release (via PR Newswire) that it would initially offer Blu-ray discs in 13,300 of its kiosks, with plans for availability across its entire network of 23,000 kiosks by the fall.

The number of Blu-ray titles and copies will vary by kiosk and location, Redbox said, with new titles being added each week. Each Redbox kiosk holds 630 discs in total, representing up to 200 titles.

Among the Blu-ray titles now in Redbox’s stock are Sony Pictures’ “The Bounty Hunter,” which topped disc rentals for the week ended July 24 (according to ), as well as Warner Bros.’ “The Book of Eli,” Universal’s “Green Zone,” and “Brooklyn’s Finest” from Overture Films.

The move follows the “great momentum” Redbox built for parent company Coinstar in the second quarter, according to chief executive Paul Davis. Redbox was the primary driver of a 34.9% year-over-year revenue growth at Coinstar during the quarter.

Coinstar’s DVD kiosk revenue increased 43.9% year-over-year during the second quarter to $271.9 million. That figure represents more modest sequential growth of 3.3% from the $263.2 million the DVD kiosk unit earned in the first quarter of 2010.

Coinstar noted that it took a pre-tax charge during the second quarter of approximately $2.0 million in accelerated depreciation related to the company’s decision to exit its DVDXpress-branded kiosk business. The company also recorded $2.2 million in share-based payments expenses related to Redbox’s agreements with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment.