Word comes today that Blockbuster is continuing its rollout of its self-service DVD rental kiosks by installing over 200 new machines in Duane Reade stores throughout New York City. With a 900-disc capacity, the kiosks serve up $1 a night rentals and don’t require an existing Blockbuster membership. After beginning the rollout in late 2008 through a partnership with business machines maker NCR Corporation–who earlier this year acquired TNR, the second largest DVD kiosk chain–Blockbuster now has more than 10,000 installed machines across the nation.
Whether this is enough to put redbox, who also signed an exclusive agreement earlier this year with Kroger, on the defensive isn’t clear but it’s obvious that Blockbuster isn’t giving up any time soon. With its rental store chain languishing to the tune of over 900 store closing by next year, Blockbuster’s moves into online DVD rental and self-serve kiosks just go to show how much the landscape of tangible media consumption is changing.
Between stopping by the video store the old-fashioned way, using kiosks like redbox or Blockbuster and online rental services like Netflix, there’s never been more ways to rent a movie. How do you rent yours?