Several Libraries Now Testing Redbox DVD Rental Kiosks
The revenue isn't much, but kiosks offer convenience and synergy
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 02/02/2010
- Extends opportunity to watch popular movies
- Some libraries already charge for DVDs
- $1-per-night charge
In Princeton, NJ, the DVD-rental company Redbox has kiosks located at two supermarkets and a Walmart—and outside the Princeton Public Library, part of a pilot program that has brought $1-a-night video rentals to library locations around the country.
“We are pleased with the results so far,” PPL director Leslie Burger told LJ, noting that she herself has taken advantage of the 24/7 access to movies, which can be reserved online. The multiple copies of popular titles allow PPL—which charges $1 to loan DVDs—to focus on TV series, documentaries, foreign films, and independent films.
While the revenue is low, just three cents on the dollar, “we didn’t go into this to make any money, we want to please our customers and this is helping to do that,” Burger said. Redbox takes care of service and maintenance.
More on the pilot
The pilot began when Brian Downing, head of a new company called Library Ideas, approached Redbox. (Downing, former publisher of Recorded Books, said he and colleagues had noticed ongoing library interest in kiosks.)
Initially, Downing said that his company focused only on libraries that already were charging to lend DVDs. However, he said, it wasn't a big issue: among the libraries participating in the trial, some charge and some don’t.
Also in the pilot are the Henderson Libraries, NV (two Redbox kiosks), the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, NC (two), the Orange County Library System, FL (two), the Lexington Public Library, KY,and the Plainfield Public Library, NJ
A January 27 Las Vegas Sun article on the Henderson pilot quoted library assistant director Gayle Hornaday as saying that Redbox would lower the wait for popular movies.
For a limited amount of time, the Henderson library, which advertises "Redbox@Your Library (left), is
offering patrons one free movie night via Redbox, either via a flyer or a code attached to a checkout receipt. Redbox response
"We are seeing mixed results thru the channel, but have a better understanding of what works and what does not from a location and marketing standpoint," Redbox VP Dana Krug told LJ.
Expansion will be based on the results of the trial, so Krug said the company would be able to comment in detail in four to six months.
Reactions
One commenter on the Sun article suggested that the pilot was innovative, noting that the library also allows people who don’t want to wait for a hold to buy a book from the library catalog.
On the unofficial blog Inside Redbox, one commenter observed, “I’d much rather rent from Redbox than my library anyway because all discs at my library are scratched to sh!t."
Another said that this is a “great deal for Redbox,” suggesting that the cut for retail partners was higher—though that hasn’t been confirmed and Krug said the company doesn't comment on such issues.
When the Princeton pilot was announced, commenters on Michael Stephens’s Tame the Web blog were mostly positive. Stephens suggested that the benefits to users, “ a service built around user convenience, selection and ease of use,” were most important for him.
