Redbox and Verizon team up to challenge Netflix in the streaming movie market

Neil Hunt is likely the most important Netflix executive that nobody's ever heard of. While everyone in tech media knows CEO Reed Hastings and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, Hunt's kept a low profile despite the pivotal position he holds as the company's chief product officer. Hunt looks after the video service's technology, including the streaming platform, as well as the tech behind the new feature announced yesterday, which will enable subscribers to share what they watch with their Facebook friends.

Hunt also oversees the unprecedented amount of user data that Netflix sits on. The data helps his team create the algorithms that support Netflix's recommendation features. At a time when the cost of licensing content is spiking, Hunt said in an exclusive interview with The Verge that these recommendations help Netflix and its subscribers get the most out of Netflix's video library by suggesting titles that customers are more likely to enjoy. Hunt also talked about those nasty holiday site outages, why Hollywood and Web movie distributors need better supply-chain technology, and why he thinks the film industry places too much emphasis on pixel counts when the sweet spot for improving viewing quality is higher frame rates.

It's been just over a month since the highly-anticipated Netflix original series House of Cards launched, but the series has already found critical acclaim and is the most-watched piece of content available to subscribers. It's the most high-profile bit of original content to launch away from the grip of broadcast and cable networks, and it's something that other online video providers are taking note of. As reported by Variety, Redbox and Verizon are hoping to break into original content of their own eventually on the new Redbox Instant service that is scheduled to launch in the next month or so. Speaking on Friday at the UCLA Entertainment Symposium, Creative Artists Agency lawyer Peter Micelli revealed that Redbox and Verizon have been inquiring about original programming opportunities, something that would mark a major strategy shift for Redbox. Up until now, the service has focused mainly on movies, and Redbox Instant only has movies planned for its initial launch.

Redbox isn't the only new company getting into the original content business, according to Micelli — he also revealed that Microsoft plans to make some high-end content buys in the near future, as well. "But right behind [Netflix] is Xbox and [former CBS executive] Nancy Tellem," he said. "She's going in looking at it in a similar way to Netflix." Of course, there's also Amazon, who plans a heavy push into original programming this year. Micelli says Amazon is planning to focus more on comedies with smaller budgets of about $1 million per episode. And the flood of original, online-only content isn't expected to stop there — "Almost every month someone comes in to get into high-end scripted programming," Micelli said. "It's an unbelievable thing to see."

Verizon and Redbox have been slowly dropping details about the upcoming Redbox Instant service, which is currently in beta, but today Microsoft joined in the fray. The Xbox 360 will be the "exclusive console launch partner" for Redbox Instant — so if you're a gamer and wanted to get Redbox Instant on your TV, you'll want to be using Microsoft's console. Of course, you'll need to be an Xbox Live Gold subscriber, and you'll also need to sign up for a Redbox Instant plan, which starts at $8 and includes four DVD rentals per month from a Redbox kiosk as well as unlimited streaming.

Along with its place as exclusive console partner, Microsoft also let a few details slip about some additional features that will be included with the Redbox service. Perhaps most surprisingly, Redbox on Xbox 360 will also let users purchase and rent movies as you would through services like iTunes as well as watch streaming movies. That part of the service will be open to all users, regardless of whether or not they have an Redbox Instant subscription. We're less than two months away from Redbox Instant's planned launch, so we expect we'll hear more about these features and the service in general in the coming weeks.

Redbox Instant by Verizon will officially arrive before the end of March, according to VentureBeat. The two companies originally announced the joint venture last February, with the invite-only, beta version of the video streaming service being offered starting last month. Redbox Instant by Verizon costs $8 a month and includes four nights of physical DVD rentals. Android and iOS apps are also available for streaming the service's 4,500 movies. Unfortunately, there's still no word on when the service will start offering television shows for streaming.

Movie rental kiosk service Redbox has been planning to partner with Verizon and break into the video streaming market for months, but now the new Netflix competitor is finally rolling out. Redbox Instant by Verizon is planned to launch later this month as an invite-only service, according to a report by the Associated Press. Eight dollars per month will get you unlimited streaming as well as four nights of physical DVD rentals, while nine dollars will get your four nights of Blu-ray rentals instead. According to All Things D, Redbox will also offer unlimited streaming with no discs for six dollars per month, two less than competing options from Netflix and Hulu.

While there's no doubt that customers will consider Redbox Instant as an alternative to Netflix, there's one major missing feature here — Redbox won't offer any TV shows at launch. Shawn Strickland, the chief executive of the new project, told the AP that the service was "targeted squarely at movie lovers," and would offer a more limited movie catalog than Netflix at first with a focus on popular Hollywood fare — movies that "really matter in the marketplace." While it sounds like Redbox will have a more concentrated, mainstream catalog, its partnership with Epix and Warner Bros. should ensure that there's some quality content available when the service launches. Unfortunately, there's no word on when Redbox Instant will move out of its invite-only phase and be widely available to the general public.

Redbox has quietly been readying its Netflix streaming competitor for some time now, but it looks as though the service's big reveal may not be far off. GigaOm has uncovered a number of details surrounding Redbox Instant including subscription rates and devices you'll be able to watch content from when it does eventually launch. Though participation is currently limited to a small, invite-only group of beta testers, Redbox temporarily posted help files visible to anyone on the web that offer insight to its strategy.

Subscriptions will start at $6 per month (undercutting Netflix by a slim margin) and with that you'll gain unlimited access to Redbox's instant streaming catalog. But Redbox also plans to take full advantage of its broad kiosk presence throughout the US, offering an $8 option that grants subscribers four DVD rentals each month. Redbox specifically refers to these as "DVD credits," so it's unclear if you'll be able to put them toward Blu-ray or video game rentals. Much like Amazon Instant Video, Redbox Instant will expand beyond streaming with premium video-on-demand rentals and purchases. Those are set to start around 99 cents, though we expect new releases will demand a bit more.

The service went into alpha testing today and will be fully launched by "the second half of 2012." While Redbox already has plenty of media partnerships for physical media, gaining the necessary rights to stream movies — especially new releases — could take some time. We'll have to wait and see if Redbox Instant takes on streaming television, but with Strickland behind the wheel it's definitely not out of the question.