Xbox users can now access the new subscription video service from Redbox Instant by Verizon, thanks to a new app that launched on Xbox Live Tuesday. This is the first time the service has been available on a game console, and it also marks the beginning of a marketing campaign for Redbox Instant, which went into public beta just a few days ago.
Redbox Instant offers subscribers four Redbox DVD rentals as well as unlimited streaming access to around 4,600 movies for $ 8 a month. An additional 4,000 newer titles are offered as streaming rentals or purchases. After a limited-time free introductory offer, Redbox Instant customers will need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to use the service on Microsoft’s game console, which will set them back another $ 5 a month.
The company launched its closed beta test at the end of December, and opened up to the public mid-March after convincing tens of thousands of testers to become paying customers, according to Redbox Instant CEO Shawn Strickland.
Strickland told me last week that the launch on Xbox Live would also kick off the company’s first real marketing efforts, and that Redbox Instant would start to specifically target Verizon and Redbox customers soon after. Apps for LG, Google TV and Vizio devices would follow in the next few weeks, he added.
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