Stateside, Blockbuster's answer to Redbox DVD rental kiosks is 10,000 vending machines that are planned by the end of next year.
Last fall, Blockbuster partnered with NCR Corp. to plan its entry into the DVD vending business. The companies just finished a pilot test in Dallas and Oklahoma City. On Tuesday, NCR said it acquired the remaining equity in TNR Holdings Corp. to accelerate the national rollout of Blockbuster Express machines.
Houston-based TNR, the second-largest DVD vending business after Redbox, operates more than 2,200 DVD kiosks under the MovieCube and The New Release brands in dozens of supermarket chains, including Kroger in the Dallas area.
Industry leader Redbox has more than 14,000 kiosks in several major chains, such as Wal-Mart, Walgreens and 7-Eleven. Movies rent for $1 a night. Redbox was acquired by Coinstar Inc. in February.
Dallas-based Blockbuster is a latecomer to the DVD vending business, as it was to the online DVD rent-by-mail business started by Netflix.
Last month, Blockbuster chief executive Jim Keyes told analysts that he's "glad that our friends at Redbox proved it out, because it is a good consumer proposition." Keyes wants the business to evolve into digital downloading kiosks, instead of dispensing a limited number of copies stored inside.
It's possible that TNR's existing machines will be converted to Blockbuster Express, but that hasn't been decided yet, NCR spokesman Jeff Dudash said.
