Redbox has locked down a multi-year distribution deal with Lionsgate that lines up content for the Redbox streaming service. The deal will also see Lionsgate handling on-demand distribution of Redbox Entertainment titles
The agreement includes licensing of films and TV series from the 17,000-title Lionsgate library for Redbox’s free ad-supported streaming service. Redbox has become a rising player on both the ad-supported video on demand (AVOD), as well as free, ad-supported television (FAST) distribution fronts. The strategy has become a successful outlet for Pluto TV, Roku, IMDb TV, and Tubi.
“Lionsgate’s longstanding partnership with Redbox has created significant value for both our companies,” said Ron Schwartz, president of worldwide distribution for Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group. “That collaboration has evolved into a multifaceted distribution relationship across home entertainment, SVOD and AVOD platforms that allows us to continue to diversify our content offering to our consumers.”
Redbox’s entertainment division has been acquiring, producing, and releasing a range of motion pictures, with a goal of reaching 36 releases per year. As part of the deal, Lionsgate will distribute Redbox Entertainment-branded films through in-home entertainment windows as well as subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) licensing for select titles.
Redbox Entertainment’s recent releases have included Capone with Tom Hardy; Shadow in the Cloud, starring Chloë Grace Moretz and Nick Robinson; and SAS: Red Notice with Sam Heughan and Ruby Rose. Among the films on the upcoming slate are The Last Son, a Western starring Colson Baker (aka musician Machine Gun Kelly) and Heather Graham; Bandit, with Josh Duhamel and Mel Gibson; and Muti with Morgan Freeman and Cole Hauser. Films are pushed across all entertainment distribution points, not just the network of the company’s some 40,000 kiosks.
The new deal comes ahead of a planned IPO for Redbox later this month. Pending some last administrative steps and a shareholder vote, the company should begin trading publicly in a SPAC transaction. The company has indicated an enterprise value of $693 million will result from the combination with Seaport Global Acquisition Corp.