In a regulatory filing following Sony Pictures’ recently struck deal with Redbox, the DVD kiosk company’s owner, Coinstar, said Tuesday that the studio will reap $460 million under terms of its multiyear pact. Sony on Monday announced a deal to provide new releases directly to Redbox through September 2014. It’s the first such agreement for the rental giant, which charges $1 per film and has had to secure studio titles through wholesalers. In exchange, Redbox agreed not to resell Sony discs, a practice that’s part of its arrangement with wholesalers Ingram and VPD and effectively dumps recent releases into discount bins more quickly than might otherwise be true — much to the annoyance of studio executives.
Meanwhile, if Universal prevails in its current court battle with Redbox — the studio has banned wholesalers of its titles from dealing with the discount rental company during the first 45 days of a title’s release — it appears that Sony would be able to impose such a ban as well, despite its agreement with the kiosk company.
Coinstar’s 8-K filing notes that “at Sony’s discretion, the agreement may expire earlier” than its defined term.
