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Warner Bros. follows other studios' lead, pulls new releases from redbox
August 13, 2009
According to the L.A. Times, Warner Bros. has joined Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox in the fight against redbox. The Time Warner-owned studio announced its plan to restrict distribution of new releases to the compnay until 28 days after their release.
Speculation is that a lawsuit from redbox may follow the Warner Bros. announcement, if its historical responses to Universal and Fox are any indication.
The Times says Time Warner believes DVD-rental kiosks will eventually go the way of $1 movie theaters, which do not show new films until well after they're released:
 | All of those studios are concerned that redbox's $1-per-night rentals are undercutting more lucrative rentals from other services and DVD sales. On a conference call after the conglomerate's most recent quarterly earnings report, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes compared redbox to theaters that show movies several months after they premiere: 'In general, we think there may well be a role for $1 rental kiosk,' he said, 'just like $1 movie theaters. |  |
The studio also is restricting its distribution to online-rental service Netflix, unless the company agrees to a more lucrative revenue-share model.
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