Redbox App Axed, Dashing People's Hopes of Keeping Purchased Content

upstart writes:

Customers uncertain as app remains downloadable after company's Chapter 7 filing:

Roku has finally axed the Redbox app from its platform. Redbox parent company Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June and moved to Chapter 7 in July, signaling the liquidation of its assets. However, the app has remained available but not fully functional in various places, leaving customers wondering if they will still be able to access content they bought. This development, however, mostly squashes any remaining hope of salvaging those purchases.

Redbox is best known for its iconic red kiosks where people could rent movie and TV (and, until 2019, video game) discs. But in an effort to keep up with the digital age, Redbox launched a streaming service in December 2017. At the time, Redbox promised "many" of the same new releases available at its kiosks but also "a growing collection" of other movies and shows. The company claimed that its on-demand streaming service was competitive because it had "newest-release movies" that subscription streaming services didn't have. The service offered streaming rentals as well as purchases.

[...] Roku's move suggests that Redbox customers will not be able to watch items they purchased. Barring an unlikely change-like someone swooping in to buy and resurrect Redbox-it's likely that other avenues for accessing the Redbox app will also go away soon.

[...] Since Redbox filed for bankruptcy, though, there has been some confusion and minimal communication about what will happen to Redbox's services. People online have asked if there's any way to watch content they purchased to own and/or get reimbursed. Some have even reported being surprised after learning that Redbox, owned by Chicken Soup since 2022, was undergoing bankruptcy procedures, pointing to limited updates from Redbox, Chicken Soup, and/or the media.

Read more of this story at SoylentNews.