Redbox has named Chris Yates as general manager of Redbox On Demand, where he will work to grow the digital video business and be responsible for P&L and strategy.
Yates joins Redbox after holding senior roles in content production, distribution and consumer electronics at companies like Dell, CinemaNow and Omnia Media. He’s worked on transactional video, social, ad-supported and subscription video platforms. He’ll report to Jason Kwong, chief strategy and business development officer, who joined the company in September last year to oversee the On Demand, Video Games, media and advertising, and additional new business initiatives at Redbox.
"We're thrilled to have a dedicated general manager on board to run our On Demand service as it becomes increasingly popular with current and new Redbox customers," said Kwong in a statement. "Chris is the right leader as he brings deep knowledge of both traditional and digital media, and an appreciation for our unique value prop—consumer choice across price points and formats."
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Redbox beta launched Redbox on Demand late last year and sold 48-hour rentals starting at $3.99 and electronic sell-through transactions for $9.99. The company is offering many of the same new-release movies available at Redbox kiosks, along with an expanded library of older movies and TV shows for rental or purchase on demand.
Redbox’s current VOD initiative is a second go-round for the company. In 2012, Redbox teamed with Verizon to launch Redbox Instant by Verizon, a streaming video service built to take on other SVODs like Netflix. But by 2014, the companies pulled the plug on the service.