Coinstar’s Redbox and Verizon Communications plan to start their video service in time for the Christmas holiday, challenging Netflix and Amazon with on-demand viewing and DVDs combined.
Redbox Instant by Verizon, now being tested in the homes of about 500 Verizon employees, initially will focus solely on newer movies that have already been available for sale and rental.
In addition to a monthly subscription, Redbox Instant will offer movie rentals and purchases.
Customers will be able to download titles to mobile devices, game consoles and set-top boxes through an application that will be available through Apple’s app store, Google’s Android store and other marketplaces, he said.
The service, announced earlier this year, will compete with Netflix and Amazon for the growing number of consumers who watch movies and television shows online and on devices like Apple’s iPhone. Subscribers to the streaming service will be entitled to a certain number of DVDs per month from Coinstar’s 40,000 Redbox rental kiosks.
Verizon and Coinstar are focused on a streaming network “that can stand on its own against Netflix, against Amazon,” Bruno said.
While there’s no specific date, the venture is targeting a full start between late November and mid-December.