Currently under the working title “Sony Online Service”, the service would build on Sony’s existing Playstation Network and deliver movies, music, books and other digital content to Sony-branded devices. No information on pricing or tiering models (subscription-based or a la carte, etc.) is available yet. There is also no word how the new service would complement/conflict with the Netflix streaming service recently added to Sony’s PS3 console.

According to Digital Trends:

“Hirai emphasized that Sony hopes to bring something “unique” to the online content business, and envisions devices constantly evolving as new content and applications are delivered to them via the service—those capabilities, as well as the online service itself, will serve as differentiating factors for Sony’s devices in an increasingly crowded consumer electronics marketplace.”

In the words of the philosopher Carroll, things keep getting curiouser and curiouser. Just how fragmented is the digital delivery market going to get, Insiders? Are there going to be enough seats at the Hatter’s table for everyone?

[via Digital Trends]

• Best Buy Launching Digital Movie Service
• Disney Wants to put Movies in the Clouds
• Netflix CEO: Streaming Video Market “Wildly Competitive”

“While it boasts ‘easy $1 a night DVD rentals’ ‘with no late fees…ever,’ that is not the truth. . . Instead, Redbox charges its customers who return a movie even one minute late a late fee in the form of an illegal penalty.”

Brent Coon & Associates, the lawyers behind the suit, have now created a website promoting their cause. Among the sections on the site is an “Interactive Redbox Legal Fees Resource” that assists visitors in determining their eligibility to join the class action suit.

Also featured is the unfortunately written “Other Legal Troubles for Redbox” section, which reads as follows:

“Redbox, with its aggressive, take-no-prisoners approach to business, is in deep disputes with nearly all of the major Hollywood studios. Coming at a time when threatening to raise prices while simultaneously showing record profits, Redbox legal department is working overtime in a sue or be sued mentality. Needless to say, many people are calling for an end to the insanity and a return to accountability.”

As discussed in the commentary on the original post, does this suit have any merit? If so, is this purple propaganda going to help bring an “end to the insanity” we’ve all been suffering? Perhaps most importantly, do you feel sorry for “Redbox legal department” and its brutal workload?

[via Video Business]

• Redbox Sued Over Multi-Day Rental Fees
• New Gold Membership Options Added, New Features Coming Soon
• TNR also hiring lawyers, fighting Universal

Remember, neither Michael nor myself are in any way associated with Coinstar and Redbox—we just know that our readers, like us, are always on the lookout for a good deal. Cheers!

• Coinstar Coin Counting for Free, But Something Is Missing
• Coinstar’s “Vacation on a Dime Sweepstakes” Offers Free Redbox Rentals
• Redbox Third-Quarter Revenue Up 90%

Lowe on the Financial Impact of Fox, Warner and Universal’s New Release Embargo
“What’s great is that there are four studios who provide great product and a great alternative for our customers. We are also able. . . to acquire other product, though not at times in the quantity we would like and not without extra cost. . . It’s not the prettiest picture and doesn’t come without cost and strain on our organization, but generally we’re able to do it.”

Lowe on the Prospect of an Industry-wide Moratorium on New Release Rentals
“Redbox would at least consider supporting something like that, provided there are a couple things in place. The first one is that all rent-ailers [sic] are on the same even playing field. Second, the studios would have to recognize that there is a different demand and a lower value to a rental time frame like that, and there would have to be a recognition of that difference.”

Lowe on Whether Redbox will Lose Customers Once the Recession Ends
“While our business does slightly better in markets where there is higher unemployment, the difference is very, very small. So we think we deliver incredible value whether you have money in your pocket or are on a tight budget. We believe we’re converting people to long-time customers.”

Lowe on the Eventual Shift to Digital Distribution
“It’s one of those things that definitely will happen some day, but that “some day” is still a long way out. That’s not to say there won’t be successful digital services. . . It’s just a matter of when that will become as large as the disc-based business, and I think it still has a long way to go.”

Lowe on the Typical Redbox Customer
“[Our typical customer is] a family with small children who’s renting both a film for the parents and a film or two for the kids. They are typically both working in the household and the kids are high school age or younger.”

[via The Hollywood Reporter]

• Redbox CEO: Less is More
• The Future of Redbox: Part 3
• Redbox CEO: Studios are Being “Emotional and Irrational”

Merriman Analyst Eric Wold was pleased with the improvement:

“With that movie still in the top six rentals for the past week, we are encouraged by the incremental gains in stocking the title with the company’s workaround program,”

The workaround Wold refers to is the fact that Redbox is being forced to purchase new release titles at retail that have been denied to it by Fox, Warner and Universal.

Wold also reported news that might deflate some of the aforementioned studios’ argument against Redbox. According to Wold, Crank 2: High Voltage, a title from Lionsgate and the studio’s first major release since its distribution agreement with Redbox  “did not display any evidence of cannibalization through any channel” in the quarter since its release.

Is Wold being premature in basing his assessment on one title’s improvement over several weeks, Insiders, or is this a growing trend? Have you noticed an improvement in the availability of Fox, Warner and Universal titles in a Redbox near you?

[via Home Media Magazine]

• Analyst: Redbox Should Make Deal with Walmart
• Analyst Cautiously Optimistic on Redbox’s Chances
• Universal’s Bluff with Redbox About to Fall Apart?

According to Video Business:

Studios will tag movies in DVD ads of films released day-and-date as available for rent on demand. Comcast will promote the films in ads across cable outlets and anywhere else it can reach subscribers. Time Warner Cable has icons saying buy on DVD or rent on demand.

Because VOD rentals are such a quickly growing segment of the home entertainment market, spending on ad campaigns has skyrocketed and will continue to climb. With big releases such as Gran Torino earning more than $30 million in worldwide cable and VOD revenue, the expense is often justified. So says Michele Edelman, VP of marketing for Warner Bros. Digital Distribution:

“We’ve seen it time and time again: The more you promote titles, the better they do,”

Cable and satellite providers are hoping that increased revenues from VOD will encourage studios to increase the number of day-and-date films released.

Insiders, do you think we’re heading towards a system when most or all titles are released on VOD and DVD (or Blu-ray) on the same day? Thus far, has it changed your buying/renting habits when films have been made available in both formats simultaneously?

[via Video Business]

• A New First for Video-on-Demand
• Comcast Mulls NBC Universal Takeover Bid
• Blockbuster’s VOD Service Extends its Reach

Bruno R
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen
Genre: Comedy, Hit Movies
movie details / trailer

Gotta Catch Santa Claus NR
Starring: William Shatner (v)
Genre: Family, Holiday, Kids
movie details / trailer

Little Cars Big Adventures NR
Starring: NA
Genre: Family, Kids
movie details / trailer

My Sister's Keeper PG-13
Starring: Abigail Breslin, Cameron Diaz
Genre: Drama, Hit Movies
movie details / trailer

Star Trek PG-13
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto
Genre: Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Hit Movies
movie details / trailer

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard R
Starring: David Koechner, Jeremy Piven, Ving Rhames
Genre: Comedy, Hit Movies
movie details / trailer

The Killing Room R
Starring: Clea DuVall, Timothy Hutton
Genre: Drama, Suspense
movie details / trailer

The Locator 2 Braxton Returns NR
Starring: Andre Buckner, Chris Durant, Cristina Kellogg
Genre: Action & Adventure
movie details / trailer

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year NR
Starring: Brooke Burns, Henry Winkler, Warren Christie
Genre: Family, Holiday, Romance
movie details / trailer

Train R
Starring: Gideon Emery, Thora Birch
Genre: Action & Adventure, Horror, Suspense
movie details / trailer

Wrong Turn at Tahoe R
Starring: Cuba Gooding, Jr., Harvey Keitel
Genre: Action & Adventure, Crime, Drama, Suspense
movie details / trailer

• Redbox New Releases for October 13, 2009
• Redbox New Releases for September 29, 2009
• Redbox New Releases for December 23-29, 2008

Redbox Statistics

• Redbox rents 1600 discs per minute from its kiosks.
• 25% of Redbox customers rent titles at one box and return at another.
• The market with the highest concentration of Redbox kiosks is Salt Lake City, with one kiosk per 3000 residents.
• The company set a rental record last Saturday, November 7, with 1.8 million disc rentals in one day.
• Redbox kiosks and their accompanying displays make 200 million impressions a week in their retail locations.

Cohen on Redbox’s Impact on the Home Video Market
“We’ve added an enormous amount of efficiency to an inefficient market. . . When we first formed our business model, we knew we’d be a disruptor.”

Cohen on Redbox’s Current Testing of Multiple Pricing Models
“Every company should know what their price elasticity is.”

Cohen on Redbox’s Impact on DVD Sell-Through
“We’ve done many studies on DVD sell-through where you have a Redbox at a location of a major retailer, and another location without one. and the difference in sell-through is less than 1%—it’s just negligible. . . We’ve come to the conclusion that people buy when they want to buy and rent when they want to rent.”

Cohen on the Longevity of the DVD format
“We listen to our customers, and so far they are very comfortable with the DVD. . . We are testing a lot of different things: Blu-ray and digital. . . When the customers are ready to make a move, we’ll be right there with them. . . The DVD format has long legs, and we see it coexisting with digital for a long time.”

[via NewTeeVee]

• Time Warner CEO: DVD Market Stabilizing
• Redbox to Test Speedier Rental, Return System
• Redbox Hits New Milestones, Growing Fast

Much like the iPod and iPhone have drawn more customers to purchase Macs from Apple, Hastings says that Netflix’s video streaming  can create a “halo effect” that sells more broadband. Netflix is quickly expanding the number of devices that support its streaming service, which Hastings feels creates a “symbiotic relationship” with broadband because as the number of compatible devices increases, so does the demand for bandwidth to support them. Says Hastings:

“Netflix is going to try to wire up every device with its application — Wi-Fi is just a $10 part. . . We’re making great progress there,”

Is Hastings right about online video compelling consumers to upgrade their Internet service? Do you already own a Netflix streaming-capable device, or do you plan to in the near future?

[via NewTeeVee]

• Netflix CEO Looks Into the Future and Sees…DVDs
• Online Movie and TV Viewership has Doubled Since 2008
• Netflix CEO: Streaming Video Market “Wildly Competitive”

Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes said that investors need to be patient while the company attempts to develop new revenue streams through kiosks, games-by-mail and on-demand rentals. Said Keyes:

“These things are going to take awhile. These things are basically on trial purposes. . . Give us time. Sorry I can’t give you much color.”

Time, however, may not be on Blockbuster’s side as it continues to lose customers to Redbox, Netflix and an ever-more-competitive VOD environment. Wedbush Morgan analyst Edward Woo echoed this sentiment, singling out Netflix as a content provider prospering at Blockbuster’s expense:

“Netflix is growing really well in a bad economy — the same economy Blockbuster is facing. . . You have to wonder how much more patience investors will have.”

Blockbuster, which has spent much of the past year refinancing its debt and raising capital, plans to increase its advertising spending and stock more copies of popular new releases. It also plans to massively expand its Blockbuster Express kiosk network with partner NCR.

Are the wolves at the door, Insiders, or can Blockbuster find its way back into the black? Give us your Blockbuster prognostications in the comments.

[via Reuters]

• Blockbuster CEO: Redbox, Netflix “Not On Radar Screen” as Competition
• Blockbuster Express Seeing Major Expansion in September
• Blockbuster to Move Away from Rentals as Primary Business Model