News

Redbox streaming shuts down

DVD kiosk provider Redbox announced the company will shut down its moving streaming platform on Tuesday, October 7, 2014.

October 6, 2014

DVD kiosk provider Redbox announced the company will shut down its moving streaming platform on Tuesday, October 7, 2014, according to the Seattle Times.

"The service is shutting down because it was not as successful as we hoped it would be," according to the statement in the article.

The streaming service launched in March 2013 after the venture formed in 2012, combining kiosk service with online video options. The company commented on the streaming service in a July 2014 earnings call: "We're not pleased where the subscribers are to date," but he added that what the company does know is that consumers look to Redbox as a new releases platform regardless of form, which, at the time of the announcement, was said to explain an increase in streaming subscribership. "If we don't hit certain subscriber threshold, then we have some decisions to make in March," he said during the July call. 

However, the company did not reach it two-year March anniversary and opted instead to cancel service. The service experienced a 9.3 percent decline from the previous year's period, which, the company said was due to the lack of new releases during the quarter.

Before the shutdown, Outerwall's stock rose 3.6 percent on Friday, although shares have fallen 14 percent in 2014, the article said. Redbox plans to report third-quarter earnings on October 30.