Redbox Instant's full launch won't be until spring 2013
The video streaming and DVD rental service aiming to compete with Netflix won't be commercially available until next year, however its public beta should be ready within the next month.
It looks like the rumor mill was a little off this time -- Verizon's Redbox Instant won't be launching this month, as was previously speculated but rather in 2013. However, its public beta should be good to go within the next few weeks.
Verizon chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam announced today at an investor conference that after public beta testing the commercial launch of the video streaming and DVD rental service should kick off either at the end of 2013's first quarter or the beginning of the second quarter, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"We are in the process of internal employee beta testing right now and we are very pleased with the progress," McAdam said at the conference. "I think later this month into the first part of January, we will open it up to customers but in a beta sort of format so that we can shake out any kinks that are left in the process."
Redbox Instant is a joint venture that was announced in February between Verizon and Coinstar -- the company that owns the Redbox DVD rental business. The companies have worked on developing an on-demand video streaming service with DVD rentals, much like what Netflix offers. They had originally expected to introduce the new service in the second half of 2012.