LOS ANGELES – Redbox, the leading $1-per-night DVD rental kiosk operator, said Thursday it agreed to delay renting movies from 20th Century Fox and Universal until 28 days after the discs go on sale.
The deal puts an end to all pending studio lawsuits against the unit of Coinstar Inc.
It also leaves the six major Hollywood studios evenly split over whether or not to impose the delay, meant to protect lucrative DVD and Blu-ray disc sales.
Warner Bros., Fox and Universal now all require a four-week delay on new home movies for Redbox, while Paramount, Disney and Sony all allow it to stock movies the same day of release.
Lionsgate, a smaller studio, also has a deal with Redbox to stock movies the day they are released for sale.
In the new deals, Fox and Universal agreed to supply the kiosks at reduced costs and increase the availability of Blu-ray discs.
In exchange, Redbox agreed to destroy discs after their rental lives end, instead of selling used copies cheaply, which the studios see as a threat to retail prices.
Redbox operates 20,000 kiosks nationwide.
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