Verizon and Outerwall's Redbox Instant will be going dark next week. The decision to retire the service was made because it failed to meet the expectations of the partnership.
"Thank you for being a part of Redbox Instant by Verizon. Please be aware that the service will be shut down on Tuesday, October 7, 2014, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. Information on applicable refunds will be emailed to current customers and posted here on October 10," the announcement said.
The announcement confirmed the rumor that surfaced late September that the service would be shut down. GigaOM asked for confirmation at the time but received a "No comment" response.
Redbox Instant was officially launched in March 2013 for $6 monthly subscription for an instant access to thousands of popular movie titles from EPIX, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, Paramount Pictures, Relativity and Sony Pictures. Customers can also rent or purchase some titles for an affordable price which can be added on top of the monthly subscription charge.
Sony integrated the service to its PlayStation 4 console that was launched in later 2013. Mobile apps for iOS and Android devices allowing customers to stream are also available.
Hwever, despite the several partnerships formed and the accessibility of the service, Redbox Instant failed to compete against Netflix, Amazon Instant Video and Hulu Plus, Reuters reported.
"The joint venture partners made this decision after careful consideration," the statement said. "The service had not been as successful as either partner hoped it would be."
The service failed to become successful because customers weren't very welcoming on the idea of juggling between physical media and streaming services. Another reason could be due to the credit card fraud issue that hit the service in 2008. New customers were unable to sign up for the past three months while existing customers were unable to update their payment information, according to Venturebeat.
