News

Study: redbox is still king

January 24, 2012

Coinstar’s redbox is the most popular source of DVD and Blu-ray disc rentals, according to an NPD survey released Thursday.

Although redbox is beating its competitors, NPD's VideoWatch tracker, which surveyed more than 38,600 movie renters and an additional 74,000 Blu-ray renters, found that the number of consumers getting their movies from streaming services is increasing.

In fact, NPD said that consumer rentals of DVDs and Blu-ray discs fell by 11 percent versus the prior year and that one in three video rentals occurred either online or via on-demand cable. DVD rentals are still No. 1, however, according to Russ Crupnick, senior vice president of industry analysis for NPD.

"The movie-rental market is clearly undergoing a sea change, as consumers become better equipped to access on-demand and streamed movies and are more comfortable with available delivery options," he said in a statement. "Even so renting physical discs from now-ubiquitous kiosks in grocery stores and other venues has taken the lead as the most popular movie-rental method in the U.S."

Redbox increased its market share from 25 percent a year ago to 37 percent in 2011, and its unit volume climbed 29 percent, despite price hikes, according to PC Magazine.

On the other hand, Blockbuster's share fell 6 percentage points to 17 percent in 2011. Even Netflix saw its share fall to a two-year low of 25 percent after it announced price hikes and its decision to separate out its DVD and streaming businesses.

Read more about DVD kiosks.