Inside Redbox

Netflix Chief Content Officer Shares ‘Phase 2′ Plans

Shane Smith — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:43:48 +0000

From upstart to consumer darling, and from fallen icon to Wall Street wonder, Netflix has had a wild ride the last few years. On board that entire time has been the company’s chief content officer, Ted Sarandos. The high-profile exec recently sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to talk about his “Phase 2″ plan’s for the company’s original content. Here are some highlights:

Sarandos on how long a Netflix original series should run

“…when people say how many episodes, I want it to be the exact number of episodes you need to tell the story perfectly. It’s very difficult to sustain a show beyond three years. Characters start to fall apart, and your writers turn over. Some of the other conventions that I’m happy to dismiss: How long does the episode have to be? And how many episodes does the season have to be? Because of the constraints of the business outside of Netflix, they have followed the same form — 13 one-hour episodes — but with Arrested Development, the running times of the shows are not rigidly 22 minutes, and there’s a 15-episode season.”

Sarandos on how Netflix uses user data in its decision process

“Sometimes it’s explicit ratings: I watch this, then I rated it five stars because I loved it. Then there are implicit ratings: Even if somebody who watches 13 hours of a show in 24 hours doesn’t rate it, we’ve got a pretty good sense of how they felt. Or if they watch 20 minutes of the first episode and never came back, they don’t have to rate it zero for us to know they’re not interested. But it’s the overlaps that really matter.”

Sarandos on what the next phase of Netflix’s original content plans are

“It’s feasible that we would double the load that we did this year [with eight new shows]. People’s tastes are wildly diverse, and I want to be able to appeal to all of those tastes and across demos. Hemlock Grove is totally different from House of Cards. Orange Is the New Black is a very different show. I think we can support a lot of specific tastes.”

Sarandos on Netflix’s decision to release all episodes of many of its original series at once

“There’s no question when we launched our series 13 episodes at a time that the one thing that everybody agreed on in this town was that it was insane. I got a call from every network executive I knew who said: “Don’t be crazy. You’ve got this huge investment, drag it out. Make ’em come back every week, and you could launch new things off of them.” It just sounded to me like the same kind of managed dissatisfaction that is the entire entertainment business. I believe there’s a bigger business in customer satisfaction than managing business satisfaction.”

Sarandos on whether Netflix is backing away from films

“No. We’re programming our service, and just like any other network, there are movies and series that come and go and we have an enormous amount of content. It’s not like when HBO’s window on a series of films expires the world ends.”

[via The Hollywood Reporter]

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Redbox Instant Streaming ‘The Hobbit’ for Free on May 22

Shane Smith — Wed, 22 May 2013 05:03:12 +0000

Get on your hobbit feet, strap on your sword, and head over to Redbox Instant by Verizon’s website if you are interested in streaming The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for free. Details after the jump.

For one day only, May 22, new members of Redbox Instant can stream The Hobbit for free after they sign up for the service. The movie must be watched within 30 days. More details can be found here.

Redbox Instant spokeswoman Jennifer St. Clair said the following about the promo:

“Customer response thus far has been great, and the promotion is part of our continuing efforts to bring the biggest movies at the best value to our customers,”

Will this promotion persuade you to give Redbox Instant a try?

[via Variety]

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About Time Preview and Trailer

Shane Smith — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:50:53 +0000

In our never-ending quest to keep you informed and up-to-date on movie and home entertainment happenings, Inside Redbox regularly takes a look at major films coming out in the near(ish) future that are already generating buzz and anticipation. This time around, we’re spotlighting About Time.

Here’s the new trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OIFdWk83no

The creator of Notting Hill and Love Actually brings you a love story starring Rachel McAdams and the love of her life who has a bit of an issue with time travel. No, this isn’t The Time Traveler’s Wife, though you’d be forgiven for thinking so. Will moviegoers fall in love with this one?

About Time arrives in theaters this November. Will you be there?

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Target Testing Video-on-Demand Service

Shane Smith — Tue, 21 May 2013 02:21:55 +0000

And why not? Looking to jump into the hyper-competitive but quickly growing subscription video-on-demand game, retail giant Target has begun testing its own SVOD service.

Entitled Target Ticket, the service is meant to compete with Netflix, Redbox Instant, Amazon Prime, and others. It currently offers about 15,000 movies and TV shows and doesn’t have set pricing yet.

Unless you’re a select Target employee, however, you won’t be trying out the service any time soon, as Target Ticket is still in limited beta testing. Says Target representative Erica Julkowski:

“We are currently testing a new online offering with Target team members only . . . During this phase, we are gathering valuable information that will help shape future plans. We will share additional details when they become available.”

Do you think consumers can be trained to think about Target when they’re looking for a VOD service? How successful can Target be in this ruthlessly cutthroat marketplace?

[via Home Media Magazine]

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Anchorman 2 Preview and Trailer

Shane Smith — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:59:35 +0000

Here’s the brand new teaser trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ-JX-7B3uM

It’s been nine long years since Ron Burgundy and co. last signed off, and now they’re back. Look for more fun, more non sequiturs, and more Brick this time around. It looks like Ron Burgundy’s stayed classy, but will his fans have stayed interested?

Anchorman: The Legend Continues starts broadcasting in theaters this December. Will you be there?

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Redbox New Releases for May 21, 2013

Michael — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:01:59 +0000

Here are the new movies you will find in your local Redbox this week (5/21/2013):

Gangster Squad
Parker
Promised Land
Stand Up Guys
The Last Stand

and more…

See the full list after the break. What will you be watching this week?

Gangster Squad R
Starring: Josh Brolin,Ryan Gosling,Nick Nolte,Emma Stone,Sean Penn
Genre: Action
Release Year:
movie details / trailer

Gangster Squad (Blu-ray) R
Starring: Josh Brolin,Ryan Gosling,Nick Nolte,Emma Stone,Sean Penn
Genre: Drama
Release Year:
movie details / trailer

Hayride NR
Starring: Richard Tyson,Corlandos Scott,Sherri Eakin,Jeremy Ivy,Jeremiah Sande
Genre: Horror
Release Year:
movie details / trailer

Once Upon a Time in Brooklyn R
Starring: William DeMeo,Wass Stevens,Ice-T ,Ja Rule,Vincent Pastore
Genre: Action
Release Year:
movie details / trailer

Parker R
Starring: Jason Statham,Jennifer Lopez,Michael Chiklis,Wendell Pierce,Clifton Collins
Genre: Action
Release Year:
movie details / trailer

Parker (Blu-ray) R
Starring: Jason Statham,Jennifer Lopez,Michael Chiklis,Wendell Pierce,Clifton Collins
Genre: Action
Release Year:
movie details / trailer

Promised Land R
Starring: Matt Damon,John Krasinski,Frances McDormand,Rosemarie DeWitt,Scoot McNairy
Genre: Drama
Release Year:
movie details / trailer

Promised Land (Blu-ray) R
Starring: Matt Damon,John Krasinski,Frances McDormand,Rosemarie DeWitt,Scoot McNairy
Genre: Drama
Release Year:
movie details / trailer

Stand Up Guys R
Starring: Al Pacino,Christopher Walken,Alan Arkin,Julianna Margulies,Mark Margolis
Genre: Action
Release Year:
movie details / trailer

Stand Up Guys (Blu-ray) R
Starring: Al Pacino,Christopher Walken,Alan Arkin,Julianna Margulies,Mark Margolis
Genre: Action
Release Year:
movie details / trailer

Struck By Lightning NR
Starring: Chris Colfer,Allison Janney,Christina Hendricks,Rebel Wilson,Sarah Hyland
Genre: Comedy
Release Year:
movie details / trailer

Tangled PG
Starring: Mandy Moore,Zachary Levi
Genre: Family,Hit Movies,Children
Release Year: 2010
movie details / trailer

The Last Stand R
Starring:
Genre: Action
Release Year:
movie details / trailer

The Last Stand (Blu-ray) R
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger,Forest Whitaker,Johnny Knoxville,Rodrigo Santoro,Jaimie Alexander
Genre: Action
Release Year:
movie details / trailer

The Millennium Bug NR
Starring: John Charles Meyer,Christine Haeberman,Jon Briddell,Jessica Simons,Ken MacFarlane
Genre: Action,Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Release Year:
movie details / trailer

White T R
Starring: Jerod Mixon,Jamal Mixon,Tommy Lister,Tony Cox,Faizon Love
Genre: Comedy
Release Year:
movie details / trailer

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Coinstar CEO: Bigger Capacity and Blu-ray Key to Redbox’s Future

Shane Smith — Sat, 18 May 2013 19:27:17 +0000

Scott Di Valerio, CEO of Redbox parent Coinstar, is pretty bullish on the kiosk operator’s future. By better adapting to its customers’ rental patterns, Di Valerio says that Redbox can expect to see a 5 to 10 percent annual increase in rentals for the next several years.

Kiosk capacity is one key area for further growth, says Di Valerio. New Redbox kiosks hold 80 more discs than older models, and some existing kiosks are also being replaced with higher-capacity machines.

Said Di Valerio:

“Without purchasing additional content, [adding capacity] will allow us to keep content in the kiosk longer, so that when our customers come, their first, second and third choices are there at a higher rate,”

The CEO also believes Blu-ray to be crucial to Redbox’s long-term prospects, and expects about 16 percent of Redbox’s revenue to come from hi-def discs this quarter. He feels that the superior sound and image quality of Blu-ray makes it a powerful choice for consumers:

“It’s hard to get the quality of Blu-ray through a stream like you do on a disc,”

Do you think Redbox is betting on the right horses for its kiosk business? How else could the company sustain and increase growth?

[via Home Media Magazine]

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Last Vegas Preview and Trailer

Shane Smith — Sat, 18 May 2013 19:03:18 +0000

Here’s the new trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-DrqEjkA1I

Four old friends learn that the last bachelor holdout among them is getting married. Not letting their combined age of 240-plus slow them down, they head to Vegas to show the young whippersnappers how a bachelor party is really done.

Last Vegas grumbles its way into theaters this November. Will you be there?

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Freebie Friday ‘Trek vs. Wars’ Edition: Win Free Redbox Rentals! (UPDATED WITH WINNERS)

Shane Smith — Fri, 17 May 2013 05:15:42 +0000

TGIF! Every week on “Freebie Friday” we offer our readers an opportunity to win free prizes. This week we’re giving away 5-packs of free Redbox rentals to three lucky winners!

Star Trek Into Darkness, the latest entry in the venerable franchise, hits theaters this weekend. The film’s director, J.J. Abrams, will shortly be departing the series to head up the OTHER biggest sci-fi franchise, Star Wars. It’s time to reawaken the rivalry between these two series!Enter this week’s contest by answering the following question in the comments section below:

Which movie series is better: Star Trek or Star Wars?

Star Wars has Han Solo! But Star Trek has Captain Kirk! Star Wars has the Death Star! But Star Trek has the Enterprise! What’s your argument to back up your choice?

On Monday the 20th, we will pick three winners at random from the submitted comments. Each winner will receive five free Redbox rentals! Multiple comments will disqualify you, so please respond just once.

Good luck, Insiders!

Update

Congratulations to our winners: Nicole, Adam351, and rychepet! We’ll be in touch shortly about your prizes.

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Preview Review: Theatrical Releases for May 17

Shane Smith — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:24:05 +0000

Welcome to another edition of Inside Redbox’s Preview Review, where we recap the movies that will be coming out in theaters this weekend. The goal of this feature is to help you make your weekend movie-watching plans, as well as to note movies that you want to Redbox in a few months when they come out on DVD.

Hopefully you’re a Star Trek fan, because there’s just one major movie coming out in theaters this weekend. The preview and trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness are after the break.

Star Trek Into Darkness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAEkuVgt6Aw

After inheriting the Enterprise in the previous film, Captain Kirk finds out there’s a lot more responsibility to the big chair than he anticipated. A mysterious villain will push him and his crew further than they ever thought possible. Rated PG-13.

Will you be seeing Star Trek Into Darkness this weekend, Insiders?

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