NCR Corporation and Universal Studios Home Entertainment announced an agreement that will make new release titles from Universal available at NCR’s BLOCKBUSTER Express DVD/Blu-ray rental kiosks 28 days after initial release.
For more information visit: www.ncr.com ; www.blockbusterexpress.com
Unedited press release follows:
NCR Reaches Agreement with Universal Studios Home Entertainment on Rental Availability at BLOCKBUSTER Express Kiosks
BLOCKBUSTER Express® Kiosks to Offer Universal Studio Home Entertainment’s New Release DVD and Blu-Ray Movies Following 28-Day Window, and Test Sell-Through and Premium Day-and-Date Rental Offers for BLOCKBUSTER Express Customers
DULUTH, Ga.–NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) and Universal Studios Home Entertainment today announced an agreement that will make new release titles from Universal available at NCR’s BLOCKBUSTER Express DVD-rental kiosks 28 days after initial release, supporting Universal’s established windows for its physical and digital offerings.
NCR and Universal also reached an agreement to test a premium rental offer on select Universal titles at the kiosks the same day they are released for sale (day-and-date). NCR plans to test the availability of these select Universal titles at kiosks in designated markets, giving consumers the option of renting new titles nearly a month earlier. The two companies also will test DVD sell-through at BLOCKBUSTER Express kiosks.
As part of the arrangement, Universal will directly supply NCR with new release DVD and Blu-ray titles effective immediately, beginning with Robin Hood and Get Him to the Greek.
The agreement provides NCR with a more efficient means for acquiring and packaging media for its nearly 7,000 BLOCKBUSTER Express kiosks, while maintaining access for customers. The agreement also gives NCR and Universal the opportunity to clearly define the consumer interest in day-and-date DVD rentals.
“By implementing a 28-day window agreement with NCR, we are able to provide consumers with what they want – additional access and options in movie rentals for some of Universal’s newest and most popular titles,” said Craig Kornblau, president, Universal Studios Home Entertainment. “Our agreement to test premium day-and-date offers and new DVD sales will help us identify new outlets for our movies while giving our customers the flexibility and choice they want in their entertainment purchases.”
“Our agreement with Universal helps us continue to make every night a movie night for our customers,” said Justin Hotard, vice president and general manager, NCR Entertainment. “We are excited about the potential of this direct relationship with Universal that allows us to expand our customers’ access to new release titles and to test and develop new products and services aimed at increasing consumer choice.”
With capacity for more than 950 DVDs each, NCR’s BLOCKBUSTER Express kiosks provide consumers with the widest, most popular selection of new and classic DVDs available for self-service. No membership is required to rent a DVD or Blu-ray at a BLOCKBUSTER Express kiosk – customers simply swipe their credit card and are charged rates starting at $1 per night until they return the movie. For a full list of titles available through BLOCKBUSTER Express kiosks or to rent a movie online for pickup at a kiosk, visit www.blockbusterexpress.com.
NCR – the worldwide leader in self-service consumer experiences – launched its BLOCKBUSTER Express DVD kiosk program in 2009 in thousands of convenient locations and is the only DVD kiosk operator also delivering movies digitally to consumers.
NCR’s BLOCKBUSTER Express DVD kiosks also are digital-download ready – they can easily be converted for movie and music download to portable memory devices, such as SD or flash memory cards.
About Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is a part of NBC Universal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80 percent-owned by General Electric, with 20 percent owned by Vivendi.
About NCR Corporation
NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) is a global technology company leading how the world connects, interacts and transacts with business. NCR’s assisted- and self-service solutions and comprehensive support services address the needs of retail, financial, travel, healthcare, hospitality, entertainment, gaming and public sector organizations in more than 100 countries. NCR (www.ncr.com) is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia.