Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) Complete Launch Of Redbox Instant Would Not Be Before Spring Of 2013

The rumors were proved wrong with Verizon Communications Inc.(NYSE:VZ) declaring that Redbox Instant will be launching sometime in 2013, not this month as was initially thought. However, this public beta version must be out within the next few weeks.

CEO and Chairman of Verizon, Lowell McAdam has recently announced at an investor conference that after the public beta experimenting the commercial release of the video streaming. The DVD rental service is supposed to start at the end of first quarter of 2013 or the starting of the second quarter, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

Mc Adam said at the conference that the company is in the process of internal employee beta testing. He seemed pleased with the progress. He said that in the beginning of the month of January, the company will be opening up to customers but in a beta format so that the bugs can be shaken out.

McAdam commented on the significance of the new business enterprise that it opens up a new market and he is cautiously positive about it.

When asked about the growth outlook for FiOS pay TV of Verizon and broadband service, McAdam said that there is plenty of space to grow. He suggested that with the release of the Redbox venture, superior broadband speeds and new applications, subscriber momentum could be higher too.

McAdam said that Verizon has lost a couple of weeks that were worth of installations due to the devastating Hurricane Sandy. However, the subscriber momentum was not slackened that much.

Redbox Instant is a joint venture that was declared in February between Coinstar and Verizon. Coinstar owns the Redbox DVD rental business. Both the companies have been working on development of an on-demand video streaming service with DVD rentals, quite similar to what Netflix, Inc.(NASDAQ:NFLX) offers. Initially, it was expected that the new service will be introduced in the latter half of 2012.