April 20, 2010NCR To Offer Digital Downloads At Airport KiosksNCR and InMotion announce machines selling video and music at 35 airports. Units to be deployed by Fall 2010. NCR To Offer Digital Downloads At Airport Kiosks - WSJ.com NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--NCR Corp. (NCR) will roll out digital download kiosks at InMotion Entertainment stores beginning next month, further expanding its footprint in the self-serve entertainment market. NCR, which operates DVD-rental kiosks under the Blockbuster Express brand, will rent and sell videos and music at 57 airport-based InMotion Entertainment locations in 35 airports nationwide. The installation is expected to be completed this fall. The company said consumers can download the content to memory cards and USB memory sticks in under two minutes, playing the content on computers and other devices with Windows operating systems. Additional devices will be supported for use later this year. "We have big expectations for the potential of digital entertainment kiosks, and we look forward to expanding this program with NCR," NCR Entertainment vice president and general manager Alex Camara said in a statement. NCR will test prices for the downloads but said rentals and purchases will be consistent with online digital downloads and in-store rentals. Consumers will have 30 days from the time of download to begin watching the movie after they rent it and, once they press play, can start and stop as much as they want over 48 hours. The kiosks will offer "thousands" of new release and catalog titles and "hundreds of thousands" of MP3 music tracks, NCR said. Digital downloads seem a natural step for NCR, as the company last week announced it was considering selling DVDs from its standard kiosks and may start charging more for new-release titles. The company faces tough competition from Coinstar Inc.'s (CSTR) Redbox Automated Retail, as well as from mail service Netflix Inc. (NFLX). NCR's shares recently traded almost 1% higher at $15.12. -By Melissa Korn, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2271; [email protected] Posted by staff at April 20, 2010 02:51 PM |