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By Helen Storey
Staff Writer
11 September 2009
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IT'S an innovative round-up this week, with news of DVD rental kiosks being trialled in UK supermarkets, rumours of LoveFilm starting a per-per-view rental service and the announcement that LoveFilm is one of the UK's top 10 trailblazing companies.
DVD rental machines to be launched in UK supermarkets
YOU may soon be able to pick up a DVD rental alongside your potatoes and milk, following plans to introduce DVD rental kiosks in supermarkets across the UK.
The automatic kiosks, known as Redboxes in the US, will be trialled in 18 Tesco outlets and will offer rentals from £1.50 a night, and if successful will be rolled out across the rest of the country.
The move comes after the huge success of the service across America, and the service requires no subscription fees, which makes it perfect for the occasional renter.
The UK version, owned by Coinstar, will be called DVDXpress and allow users to rent up to four DVDs at any one time. The machines can hold up to 300 recent releases, which can be reserved online and collected at a later time.
Customers can use a credit or debit card to take advantage of the service, and a charge of £25 will be deducted from their bank account if the DVD isn't returned after 15 days.
Alternatively, a monthly subscription can be taken out for £9.99, which allows unlimited rental.
"The main reason for the success of the kiosks is convenience," said a spokesperson for Coinstar. "It fits in with the way people live, with limited time. You could pop out to buy groceries and decide to pick up a DVD, too."
YouTube to enter movie rental biz?
YOUTUBE are at the top of the rumour mill this week, as news comes that they are reportedly in deals with major Hollywood studios which will see movie rentals available on the site.
Following in the footsteps of iTunes and Amazon, YouTube will allegedly offer movie streaming on a pay-per-view basis, which allows the user to watch their rented movie as many times as they want within 24 hours.
The news comes just a week after signing a deal with the Performing Rights Society which will allow the uncensored versions of hundreds of music videos which were removed from the site back in January due to copyright issues.
A YouTube insider has reported that the deal is dependent on pricing and release dates. Studios purported to be close to finalising a deal include Sony, Warner Brothers and Lionsgate.
LoveFilm is a trailblazer
EUROPEAN rental giant LoveFilm has been named as one of the top 10 trailblazing companies in the UK by a Tech Media Invest advisory board.
Standing tall amongst other innovative companies such as Betfair, MoneySupermarket and King.com, LoveFilm has earned its place due to its huge international success.
Arica Wegter, internet entrepreneur and advisory board member said LoveFilm pioneered a service that nobody knew was needed by British customers.
Daniel Waterhouse, partner at Wellington Partners Venture Capital, said: "All of them have changed a market and built a large, sustainable business, leveraging the power of the internet.".
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