Redbox Acquires NCR, Blockbuster Express For Up To $100 Million

fastcompany.com

27 points·hornokplease··10 comments

The headline here appears to be a bit misleading - according to a report in Forbes[1], Coinstar/Redbox has acquired NCR's DVD kiosk business (which ran under the Blockbuster Express brand), not the entirety of NCR.

<edit> The Redbox press release [2] makes it clear that they have only acquired NCR's entertainment line of business.

[1] http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2012/02/06/ncr-q4-top...

[2] http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/redbox-to-acquire-th...

Thanks, the article wasn't terribly clear on this either. I found it kind of odd that Redbox would aquire a POS solutions provider...

My understanding is that NCR provided a service to Blockbuster (which simply branded it, and provided the consumer relationship, aka took payments). DISH Network is now the owner of Blockbuster, and I don't think they are the only consume-facing operator of these kiosks.

Isn't that bad for the consumer when a near duopoly buys the competitor?

They have a monopoly on dvd kiosks but streaming is still an alternative.

Redbox has all the new releases, streaming never does (at least not under the monthly all you can eat).

I've never tried it, but www.vudu.com seems to have most new releases.

Amazon streaming

Yes, because it practically eliminates the competition in the market. Considering that Redbox recently raised their prices, the purchase of Blockbuster Express may have primarily been intended to ensure that BBX couldn't undercut them.

It's probably a balance. One of the most desirable traits of a convenience service like Redbox is the ubiquity of their kiosks. If every block had a kiosk run by a different service, it would be bad for the consumer because it would be difficult to know who to trust.

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