Redbox Adds Value Menu as Company Continues Evolution to Low-Cost Streaming Platform
Redbox is under new management, having completed its sale earlier in August to Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment. Now, the company has announced a new way to watch movies.
As reported by Media Play, Redbox now offers a “value menu,” offering lower price rentals both at its kiosks and on-demand. The menu has movies available for $2, for $1, and for free. While the offerings don’t include the service’s most recent releases, as free and cheaper streaming options continue to rise in popularity, this move fits in perfectly with what is most attractive to consumers currently.
The Chicken Soup For the Soul merger was for $375 million and puts Redbox under the Crackle Plus umbrella with free streaming services Crackle, Popcornflix, Popcornflix Kids, Truli, Pivotshare, Españolflix, and FrightPix. The company continues to operate its 36,000 signature rental kiosks at various retail locations. But even before being acquired, RedBox was branching out into the streaming space, but now as part of a company firmly engrained in that sector of the industry, the streaming opportunities seem like an even larger part of the service’s future.
The company’s strategy seems focused on free, ad-supported TV (FAST) channels and ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) platforms, but the “Value Menu” represents another revenue stream for Redbox under its new ownership.
“Together, we will build a fully developed AVOD and FAST streaming business: proven branded streaming services, formidable content, and production capabilities, and a strong AVOD and FAST ad sales operation,” CSSE CEO William J. Rouhana Jr. said when the deal was announced in May.
As of Tuesday, the $2 on-demand rentals include “John Wick Chapter 2,” “13 Hours,” “World War Z,” “Promising Young Woman,” and “Despicable Me 2.” The $1 list includes “Blacklight,” “Infinite,” “Shadow in the Cloud,” and “Running With the Devil.”
The “Free on Demand” menu includes “Support the Girls,” “Bulletproof Monk,” and “What Just Happened.”
More prominent recent movies, like “Jurassic World: Dominion,” “Black Phone,” “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” are available for $2 rentals on the kiosk side. Such recent movies as “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” “Jackass Forever,” and “Uncharted” are available as $1 kiosk rentals.
Redbox
Redbox was a free ad-supported video streaming service with dozens of live streaming channels and on demand movies. Users could also rent or buy movies through the platform. The service shut down in 2024.