INNOBLOG

A colleague pointed out an article in The Boston Globe ("Like Coke machine for DVDs") describing a new way to rent DVDs. The service is provided by a company called Redbox, which is a subsidiary of McDonald's. The concept is simple. Go to a kiosk, swipe your credit card, and receive a DVD. You don't have to be a member and are charged a dollar a day for each day you have the DVD. You can return the DVD to any Redbox kiosk.

Color me a bit skeptical about the viability of this approach. What are the potential benefits? Ultimately more convenience because kiosks might be everywhere (of course, having a DVD arrive in the mail is pretty darn convenient as well, but you have to pay monthly fees for that convenience). Lower prices, although if you keep a movie for a couple of days prices can add up. The downside? A limited selection of movies, and no guarantee that the kiosk you spot will have the movie you want.

To me, it just feels like Netflix can get the movie rental job done better than Redbox can.
Sure, there are some nice applications. If you are a business traveler, you could pick up a movie in your home city, watch it on the plane and drop it off when you stop by McDonald's to get breakfast. But it seems like the company's claim that it is "paradigm-shifting, business model crushing" might be a bit much.

Thoughts?