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Verizon's Redbox Instant service to shut down this week

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In a crowded market of streaming on-demand video services, another competitor has fallen.

In a message to subscribers this weekend, Redbox Instant announced they are ending services at 11:59 p.m. PT on Tuesday.

“We apologize for any inconvenience and we thank you for the opportunity to entertain you,” the message states.

Redbox Instant, operated by Verizon Communications Inc. and Outerwall Inc.’s Redbox, competed with similar streaming video on demand services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant Video and Hulu. The announcement comes less than two years after Redbox Instant was launched in 2013.

A Reuters report on the shutdown indicated Verizon and Outerwall issued a statement saying, "The service had not been as successful as either partner hoped it would be."

Subscribers to Redbox Instant will receive an email regarding refund information on Oct. 10, according to a message posted to the service’s official Facebook page.

 

 

 

Clint Davis is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @MrClintDavis.