Though it’s still a few weeks out from reporting its first quarter numbers, B. Riley & Co. analyst Eric Wold estimates that Redbox saw a 16 percent drop in per-kiosk revenue in Q1. Wold chalks up the decline to a soft new release schedule and the assimilation of thousands of Blockbuster Express kiosks.
Integrating 10,000 BB Express kiosks purchased from NCR has suppressed overall per-kiosk revenue averages, and is expected to do so for a little while longer. In addition, the first quarter of 2013 was light on big new release titles, keeping some renters away.
Wold, ever the optimist, believes that the worst is behind Redbox and its numbers should improve in the near future. Said Wold:
“Redbox weakness since Q3 has only fueled the bear argument that discs are quickly going the way of the Dodo . . . With the Blockbuster kiosk transition in the past, more targeted marketing strategies and better inventory management (including the implementation of the kiosk capacity enhancements), we would expect to see Redbox rental patterns begin to stabilize in Q2 and put an end to the recent double-digit declines in average revenue per kiosk.”
If Redbox does indeed reveal a per-kiosk revenue decline, will it be just a short-term worry or a symptom of a bigger problem?
[via Home Media Magazine]
I don’t use the Box much now… I have Netflix online and Netflix three out at a time…
That is really all I need..
-If Redbox does indeed reveal a per-kiosk revenue decline, will it be just a short-term worry or a symptom of a bigger problem?
A symptom of a bigger problem. The disk rental business is maturing and this is the first step. A “blockbuster” title won’t change this trend–just create a shortage of disks at each location.
hate to use the “no good movies” excuse, but there hasn’t been much that has piqued my interest the last few months… But i keep checking on my good ol redbox app for stuff to watch a couple times a week… I would expect another decline since the warm weather is here unless some heavy hitting movies pop up…
A bunch of really good titles came out in the last 3 weeks or so. They will be fine for Q2
I really don’t see much at the Box now.. But I will drop in every now and then. Never know..Right!
Might just be because it was winter, and no one wants to stand out in the cold looking for a movie.
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One only has to look at all of the executives that are leaving and have left Redbox in the past few weeks to know that something bad is happening there. It would appear that they may be getting ready for a buyout (Verizon? Amazon?) Hmmmmmm…
Outside of a few worthy new releases there hasn’t been much of interest to watch in the last 6 weeks. It’s not Redbox’s fault. They can only rent what the studios release.
I do Netflix 3-at-a-time. Last month I switched to 2 at a time because there was little of interest to me coming up.Today Django is out. Then Friday-THIS IS 40.Next week-The Impossible and Silver Linings Playbook.The week after that Jack Reacher,Promised Land and then Parker. That’s really it for the rest of April and all of May. For the full upcoming DVD lists I always check ‘videoeta(dot) com’. They list virtually every release. It’s a great site and you can check months in advance for release dates. May.June and July look like the dead zone as far as worthwhile releases.
Redbox would be smart to devote at least half of each kiosk to excellent older films (The Shining,Chinatown, Midnight Express) that people might want to see again or never saw in the first place. Instead Redbox fills each kiosk with 95% C or D list junk. I realize some people will watch anything and many parents use Redbox as a baby-sitting service. They don’t seem to care about people who really like good movies.