Redbox Launches Streaming Service

Redbox, the DVD rental company best known for its physical kiosks, is dipping a toe in the streaming market with its new service Redbox Free Live TV, according to published reports Monday (Feb. 17).

The service will be different from “live TV” style services as provided by outlets like YouTube TV or Hulu’s Live TV, instead being a curated set of movies and shows with ads breaking them up, comparable to The Roku Channel or IMDb TV.

The content will be organized into channels, with some being from notable brands like TMZ, USA Today, Fail Army, Now This, FilmRise, batteryPOP, Filmhub, Food52 and more. Others will be Redbox-created, with labels like Redbox Comedy, Redbox Rush and Redbox Spotlight, to help users discover new things to watch, according to TechCrunch.

The content will sometimes expire from the service due to contract deals, but Redbox said there will always be something available, as with live television.

The company will make a news announcement about the service sometime this week, but a tip from Cord Cutters News spotted the move ahead of time.

The arrival of Redbox Free Live TV will expand on previous attempts of a similar stripe, such as Redbox on Demand, the company’s 2017 online marketplace for movies and TV, and an earlier foray into the streaming world as customers’ appetite for DVDs waned. On that service, customers can save titles to their Redbox On Demand library and watched on any device supporting it, including a smart TV, mobile device, PC or other media streaming device.

Redbox Free Live TV is available on iPhone, iPad and Android devices, and on the web. The company said the service is so far only available to a small audience, but will be offered nationwide shortly.

The world of streaming does not look to be slowing down this year, with Apple making a bid to increase streaming revenue with the help of an ex-Netflix executive, and Verizon looking to modify its streaming revenue and let customers pick and choose in terms of their streaming choices rather than buying bundles of everything.