NCR Corp.’s transition from a manufacturer of ATMs to a self-service technology company is becoming more evident with its expansion into the fast-growing self-service DVD-rental kiosk business.
NCR announced earlier this month its purchase of DVDPlay, its second acquisition of a DVD kiosk-rental company since April, when it acquired TNR Holdings Corp., a Houston-based DVD kiosk operator. DVDPlay operates 1,300 kiosks in the United States and Canada. NCR did not disclose how much it paid for either company.Through purchases and organic growth, Duluth, Ga.-based NCR operates 3,800 self-service DVD-rental kiosks in the United States and Canada, Jeff Dudash, an NCR spokesperson, tells PaymentsSource.Each kiosk can hold up to 950 DVDs, he says. Consumers can rent a DVD for $1 per night only with a credit or signature-debit card, Dudash says.
NCR deploys the kiosks in convenience stores, drugstores, supermarkets and other locations with a large amount of pedestrian traffic.NCR began operating its DVD kiosk business under the Blockbuster Express Brand after signing a licensing agreement with Dallas-based Blockbuster Inc. in January.
Industry officials expect the self-service kiosk rental business to grow dramatically.
In 2008, self-service DVD-rental kiosks controlled 5.9% of the $7.5 billion DVD-rental market, says Grace Lee, a spokesperson for The Entertainment Merchant Association in Los Angeles. Last year, consumers spent $22.4 billion buying and renting DVDs, Lee says. In 2010, The Entertainment Merchant Association projects DVD-rental kiosks will control 13% of the DVD-rental market.
“We feel we are at the beginning of a multibillion-a-year industry,” Dudash says.
NCR’s move into DVD rentals fits with the philosophy of the company’s chairman and CEO. Three years ago, Bill Nuti described applying the company’s self-service technology to all areas of consumers’ lives. Since then, NCR has become a leader in airline check-in kiosks and kiosks that enable patients to check in for visits with their physicians, says Gil Luria, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles.
NCR is converting both TNR Holdings and DVDPlay to the Blockbuster Express brand.
