Redbox Announces Blu-rays at Walmart - Soon Everywhere

Redbox, who has over 22,400 kiosks across the country is getting ready to release Blu-ray Discs to consumers in a nation-wide push for Blu-ray. Blu-ray Discs will be available in a majority of Redbox kiosks by July. While the details are still being released, Redbox has affirmed the obvious: Blu-ray won't be replacing DVDs, merely supplementing them. This would potentially affect selection at each location since the kiosks have a fixed amount of rentals available. There is, however, no information (yet) on whether the stock and inventory schedules will be changed to keep up with the change. In addition, according to their CEO, a majority of Redbox kiosks are not currently full, so there’s space to add Blu-ray titles without removing any DVDs currently available.

The company has not officially released rental pricing for high-definition Blu-ray Discs, but consumers should expect them to be at least $2/day. Paul Davis, CEO of Coinstar (the parent company of Redbox) had this to say regarding the new format availability: "Granted, we’ll be paying more for the Blu-ray titles, but you should also assume we’ll be charging more."

Redbox has already had some experience with Blu-ray format, renting some at select Walmart stores in a test of the new format. From the Redbox.com website:

Now you can rent Blu-ray Discs from redbox kiosks at select Walmart locations. That's right, friend, get the movies you want, in the format you want, at the price you want to pay. Here are just a few of the terrific Blu-ray Discs now available at select redbox locations - something for everyone in the family! 

Redbox expects 15% of current renters to begin renting Blu-ray Discs. The announcement comes on the heels of an agreement between Warner Home Video and Redbox. The companies agreed to a 28-day window for new-release titles from the studio. Not all studios are playing nice, though. Redbox has been sending employees to retail stores to buy Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox titles as they release. Both studios continue to prohibit wholesalers from selling to Redbox. Fox wants a 30-day window on its titles and Universal wants even more. Both studios are being sued by Redbox to resolve the apparent impasse.