{"id":646831,"date":"2013-03-14T13:43:13","date_gmt":"2013-03-14T17:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=620559"},"modified":"2013-03-14T13:43:13","modified_gmt":"2013-03-14T17:43:13","slug":"redbox-instant-launches-publicly-ceo-calls-original-content-talk-premature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/646831","title":{"rendered":"Redbox Instant launches publicly, CEO calls original content talk premature"},"content":{"rendered":"

Surprise! Redbox Instant<\/a> by Verizon officially launched to the public Thursday, just as I had predicted in an earlier story<\/a>. The launch comes after a three-month-long closed beta test that Redbox Instant CEO Shawn Strickland characterized as a great learning opportunity during a phone conversation Thursday morning. \u201cNow we are open for business,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Redbox Instant currently offers its subscribers access to 4,600 subscription titles and four Redbox DVD rentals for $8 a month. Customers can also digitally rent or buy around 4,000 movies for a fee to augment their subscriptions with newer fare. Strickland told me that the service saw interest from \u201chundreds of thousands\u201d of consumers who signed up to join the closed beta test. Tens of thousands not only joined for a free trial, but stayed around to become paying customers after their trial period ended.<\/p>\n

So who are those Redbox Instant customers? Strickland said that the beta test confirmed the company\u2019s belief that it was primarily catering to people who still value physical rentals<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a disc plus offering,\u201d he said, with streaming supplementing DVD rentals. That\u2019s also reflected in the type of content the company is making available for streaming. \u201cIt clearly starts with movies,\u201d said Strickland, adding that the focus might evolve over time.<\/p>\n

That approach is very different from Netflix, which also started out with a movie-focused DVD service, but now invests heavily in TV content. Does that mean Netflix and Redbox are going to be complementary, as opposed to arch-enemies? My conversation with Strickland left me with the impression that he would be okay with that — as long as people are paying for his company\u2019s service as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think that the over-the-top space will evolve very similarly to the cable and network space,\u201d he said. Meaning: You might get your content from more than one streaming provider in the future, just like you get it from more than one cable network.<\/p>\n

Of course, a large part of the rise of cable networks like HBO or even AMC has been the production of original content, something that has been an increasing focus of Netflix and Hulu as well. CAA agent Peter Micelli speculated a few days ago<\/a> that Redbox Instant may venture into original content as well. Strickland called this kind of talk \u201creally premature,\u201d explaining that Redbox Instant doesn\u2019t even have enough insights into what kind of exclusive content its subscribers could be interested in yet. But he added: \u201cFrom an industry perspective, there is a clear force in that direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

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