Only nineteen months after initially launching the Redbox Instant by Verizon online streaming video service will officially shut down on October 7 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. The joint venture between Verizon and kiosk movie rental company Redbox had aspirations of competing with other online video delivery services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Instant Video. But apparently the SVOD (Subscription Video On Demand) market wasn’t wide enough for Redbox to survive in. The company’s parent, Outerwall, had discussed shutting down the service due to unsatisfactory subscriber numbers.
According to a statement on the Redbox by Verizon website, the service “had not been as successful as either partner hoped it would be. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our customers.”
The Redbox Instant by Verizon service will offer refunds to customers, who will be allowed to stream movies until the official shutdown time. Refunds will be given to customers who paid for, but only received a partial month of service. That means customers who paid for a full month after September 8, 2014 will be given a full month refund.
Verizon and Redbox officially launched the product to the public in March, 2013, but beta testing for invited users was happening as early as July. 2012.
The Redbox Instant by Verizon product consists of the browser-based online video service, as well as streaming through the Redbox Instant by Verizon app for Android and iOS devices.
The Redbox app, a separate service available for Android, iOS and Windows 8 devices, will continue to allow users to reserve movies for rental at local kiosks.
