DRM News

As more and more movie studios set up deals with Netflix and Redbox that delay the appearance of new releases in their catalogues by up to a month, Paramount is going to the other way. Paramount is removing the 28 day delay of new releases on the Redbox DVD kiosk rental system.

Other studios maintain that keeping the delay in place helps spur DVD sales. After watching their numbers since signing a deal with RedBox last August that gave Paramount time to see what impact allowing new releases immediate availability with Redbox would have, Paramount doesn’t agree.

From the LA Times :

"There were two conclusions we came to," said Dennis Maguire, president of Paramount Home Entertainment. "There hasn’t been a cannibalization of DVD sales from Redbox, and Redbox was allowing us to expand our business and ultimately make more money" than if the studio held back its DVDs to Redbox for a period of time.

"Those people who want to rent are going to figure out ways to rent," he said, "and us restricting them from renting isn’t going to turn it into a purchase."

From this point forward, Paramount will release movies to Redbox the day they come out. In exchange they will receive a portion of all rental revenue, and a guarantee of availability for their movies in Redbox kiosks.

Paramount joins Sony Pictures in having a day of release deal with Redbox, and Disney also provides their new releases to the company. On the other side of the spectrum, Fox, Universal and Warner Bros. have contracts that delay the appearance of their new releases by a month.