Redbox vs Netflix vs Blockbuster

Over the last few years there has been a war brewing between video rental chains. The store chains have been failing miserably: Hollywood Video had to shut down, Blockbuster was on the verge of bankruptcy and many of the smaller, independent chains also had to close the doors and board up the windows. The reasons for the plight of the traditional video store are multi-pronged: the internet changed the climate for movie consumption, tv has always played a role in hurting video rental business and then there was the introduction of video rental kiosks and mail order systems. The largest video rental kiosk company is Redbox and the largest mail order/ online/ streaming service is Netflix. Those two companies combined have probably led to the most revenue lost for video rental chains.

In the end, the internet has really changed the way in which people consume films and video. It is no longer necessary for a person to leave their house, travel to the nearest video rental store and then hope that the movie they want to see is not checked out already. Now, people can simply log onto the internet search on a streaming video site for the movie they want to watch and then pay for it via credit card- and then they can watch the movie at their leisure. It is really that easy and convenient now. Or, a person can find the nearest kiosk, browse the movie selection and then come away with a movie to watch that night for a fraction of the cost they would have had to pay at a video rental chain store. So, needless to say, the video rental chains have had to adjust their business model in order to meet the demand of the marketplace. Blockbuster is the main chain that has gone to the video rental kiosk model. Each method has its benefits and its disadvantages though.

NetflixNetflix is the most versatile of all the options available because it allows a customer to rent movies via its mail order system, stream movies online and it is also compatible with streaming mobile devices like cell phones, video game systems and cable service providers. Thus, Netflix has many options and it is not very expensive. Netflix is also very easy to use. The only drawback is sometimes videos take a while to get mailed, the streaming services do not provide all the movies available and the price seems to always go up.

RedboxRedbox is a kiosk rental service. The drawback is that it doesn’t have as many movie choices as the other options. The benefit is that the price is very cheap and you can return the movies to any drop box location.

BlockbusterBlockbuster is struggling with the store locations, but they have been trying to break into the kiosk market and the mail order market, which gives the company some hope. But, until they get it figured out, it is not as convenient or as cheap as the other options.

Author Bio: Bob is a freelance writer and movie geek. Click on the following link to read more about Phoenix Kiosk.