Indiana town questions Redbox monitoring

Local council worried kids have access to R-rated titles

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 10/5/2007

OCT. 5 | Legislators in a small Indiana town are taking Redbox to task over the inclusion of R-rated movies in its kiosks, and independent rental retailers are jumping on the opportunity to market themselves as more parent- and community-friendly than their $1-per-night rival.

The kiosks are unstaffed and located in areas of high kid traffic, such as the Union City, Ind., McDonald’s restaurant, causing concern at the Union City Council. Council president Bryan Conklin said in an interview that he has asked McDonald’s franchise owner Rick Reichenbach to either remove the Redbox machine or change its title selection to strictly G-rated product.

Having received no response, Conklin is now preparing to seek a state injunction to remove the mature movies from McDonald’s.

“I’m not the moral right, but if you’re marketing Happy Meals, and you’re entertaining kids, then this isn’t the place to be renting these types of movies,” said Conklin. “Our intention is that, if this is going to be for the general public, then we are asking them to have G-rated films only.”

Redbox VP of marketing Gary Lancina said, “Redbox is intended for use by customers age 18 years and older. We feel the appropriate measures are in place to allow parents and families to make educated choices regarding age-appropriate entertainment options when using Redbox kiosks.”

Users of Redbox machines must acknowledge that they are at least 18 before they can rent a title.

“Redbox features the latest DVD releases with ratings from G to R,” said Lancina. “Any time a customer selects an R-rated title, a screen appears informing the customer that they will be renting a DVD with an R-rating. Customers then have a chance to select a different movie or proceed with their rental. To date, we have not experienced problems regarding age restrictions. As always, customer satisfaction continues to be a top priority.”

But Conklin believes too many kids can be motivated to lie about their age to get their hands on a popular R-rated title. Pre-paid, store-bought credit cards are increasingly given to kids as gifts, allowing them to rent without needing their parents, he worries.

Currently, Redbox machines offer 100 to 150 of the week’s top releases, regardless of rating.

Conklin admits it’s just as simple to rent age inappropriate titles with online services. But he believes Netflix and others are accessed in the confines of homes and don’t need the same policing.

The Video Buyers Group has begun publicizing Conklin’s crusade among its rentail members, hoping they also take on the cause with local city governments. With its dirt-cheap $1-a-night pricing, Redbox has emerged as a serious new rival to the traditional rentailer. But VBG contends it’s not trying to run Redbox out of town, only have it live up to the same standards that rentailers do in their own communities.

“Most video stores take this issue pretty seriously and will put stickers on R-rated boxes saying you must be 17 or older to rent,” said Ted Engen, VBG president. “For the same reason why you can’t access cigarettes and alcohol in vending machines, there is something wrong with McDonald’s renting R-rated product.”

Alan Denney, VBG member and owner of Union City rentailer K and K Video agrees that he only wants McDonald’s to abide by the same rules as everybody else.

“We are monitored for what we rent, and no one is monitoring these machines,” said Denney. “Wal-Mart even has to validate certain transactions, since they have an image to protect.”