"The service had not been as successful as either partner hoped it would be."
Translation : We couldn't extort enough money from Netflix as we hoped...
Verizon will shut down its Netflix competitor Redbox Instant on Tuesday, a mere year and a half after the firm first launched the video-streaming service in the USA. It's set to shut down permanently in a little over 48 hours from now, Verizon told subscribers. Redbox Instant said in a post on its website: Information on …
I doubt they would kill the kiosks, they are well used for movies and games - UK folk think lovefilm postal service but a vending machine instead of post.
Hopefully someone like tesco in the UK will start a kiosk service, or maybe even redbox themselves. It's needed since the death of blockbuster.
I don't think anybody can compete against Netflix. As we've seen, it's easier to put the squeeze on their customers if you're in a dominant position. The credit card fraud thing probably didn't help either as it left them unable to sign up new customers.
Last figures I saw showed Netflix accounted for 34% of North American internet traffic at peak hours. Amazon Video and Hulu had 1.7-1.8% each in comparison.