BLOCKBUSTER KIOSK DEPLOYMENT QUESTIONED

Reports that Blockbuster is planning to install some 10,000 Blockbuster Express kiosks in key locations by the end of the year may have been exaggerated. According to Home Media magazine, the kiosks are being installed, financed and stocked not by Blockbuster but by the maker of the kiosks, NCR Corp. The magazine said on Tuesday that a recent SEC filing has disclosed that about 6,000 kiosks have been installed with another 1,000 due to go online by the end of the year. Moreover, the magazine revealed many of the installations do not represent new locations but rather swapping older kiosks put out under NCR’s old DVDPlay brand with newer ones using the Blockbuster brand. Analyst Edward Woo, with Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles, told Home Media, “I think [NCR/Blockbuster] are struggling a bit as Redbox recently raised its kiosk installation goals after signing CVS pharmacy.” Struggling Blockbuster is expected to file for bankruptcy protection before the end of the month.