A plan to install Redbox movie rental kiosks on campus has been given the red light.
The plan from Associated Students Inc. to install two Redbox kiosks on campus was rejected by Redbox’s parent company, Outerwall, Inc., who said that universities are not a viable market for its product, according to ASI Vice President Jonathon Bolin.
Bolin said that if approved, ASI had planned to place one kiosk near the dorms and the other in the University Student Union. He said the plan intended to just make life “a little easier” for students.
“We have 36,000 students, 2,000 faculty and 2,000 staff,” he said. “Everyone already goes to the Ralphs across the street to use [its Redbox kiosk]. It just seems like an obvious solution.”
Bolin said ASI would not have profited from the installation of kiosks on campus, and that the revenue generated by movie rentals would have gone directly to the company.
Once Outerwall, Inc. told CSULB that it did not wish to partner with the university, the company stopped responding to any inquiries from ASI, according to Bolin.
Representatives from Outerwall, Inc. and Redbox refused to comment on the matter.
An automatic reply email from Redbox, however, said that the company is no longer pursuing kiosk placement in airports, apartments, office buildings, hotels and universities due to “disappointing test results,” but the email did not elaborate on the results.
Bolin said he and other members of ASI believe that students, faculty and staff who visit campus multiple times a week would use a Redbox kiosk often.
Some students, like freshman pre-civil engineering major Jason McKenzi, agreed that installing Redbox kiosks on campus is a good idea.
“I think that’d be 10 times easier,” McKenzi said. “My girlfriend goes here, so we could just pick it up and go, and bring it the next day. You can go to Vons or stores that have it, but it’d be so much easier if it was at school. I would use it.”
Senior mechanical engineering major Shad Yeager said that a Redbox kiosk on campus would make renting movies more convenient.
“I don’t see why it’d be a bad idea,” Yeager said. “You see them at Walgreens, in markets — they’re everywhere now. The cool thing about it is you could rent it, go home and watch it and bring it back when you go to class.”
Bolin said that if Redbox or Outerwall, Inc. becomes open to the idea of placing kiosks in universities, ASI would be willing to work with them.
I have also been trying to reach out to Redbox and Outerwall and they have been refusing to send me back any responses. This was a good article to read so at least now I am informed as to why they haven’t responded. I have lost respect for this company. Does anyone know of any other alternatives to redbox? I would love to reach out to a different company that would like to steal the market on our campus.
Look into Digiboo (www.digiboo.com). They’re on several college campuses.
I wonder if they still think it’s an idea of no interest to them ….welcome to 2020 Outerwall