Redbox Sues 20th Century Fox Over DVD Delays

Apparently Blu-ray reviewers aren't the only folks Fox is slow to send titles to.

A lawsuit filed by Redbox says Fox’s 30 day delay on new DVDs is unfair.

20th Century Fox is being sued for unfair practices by the increasingly popular DVD rental company Redbox. The suit is based on a recent request from Fox to its wholesalers to put a 30 day delay on sales to Redbox, a move which appears to have caught the ire of Redbox execs.

“At the expense of consumers, 20th Century Fox is attempting to prohibit timely consumer access to its new release DVDs at Redbox retail locations nationwide,” said Mitch Lowe, president of Redbox. He went on to state that Fox will have no effect on their efforts. “Despite this attempt, Redbox will continue to provide our consumers access to all major new releases including 20th Century Fox titles at our more than 15,000 Redbox DVD rental locations”

Redbox has issued a press release on the subject noting that just yesterday they signed a deal with Lionsgate, and referencing their mutually beneficial July deal with Sony.

Fox isn’t convinced though, they believe that Redbox is abusing their ability to price their rentals low. “This lawsuit aims to limit Fox's ability to make legitimate business decisions, and Fox believes it will prevail in defeating Redbox's meritless claims,” said a spokesman from Fox on the subject.