Polar Frog leaps into DVD burning

FROM VSDA: Kiosk maker to bow machines at grocer Sprouts

By Jennifer Netherby -- Video Business, 7/11/2006

JULY 11 | LAS VEGAS—In one of the first deals for in-store DVD burning, kiosk maker Polar Frog Digital will bow a mainstream movie download kiosk at natural grocer Sprouts, Polar Frog CEO Todd Rosenbaum said.

Polar Frog has deals with independent suppliers Hart Sharp, Razor Digital and Ariztical to offer a selection of content for in-store burning through the kiosks, which the company is showing off during the VSDA convention. The company is in talks with the major studios and other retailers to add additional content and store locations.

Polar Frog’s kiosks hold between 700 to 800 films or 3,000 TV episodes (roughly 3 terabytes). Through a high-speed Internet connection, the kiosks can download 40 new movies each month.

Consumers can only choose from those movies already downloaded to the kiosk. Once they make their choice, the kiosk takes six to eight minutes to burn a disc, which can then be played on any set-top DVD player. The kiosks also let consumers pre-order titles through the system.

Polar Frog is an offshoot of rackjobber TopHits Music, which handles CD, DVD and book sales at Walgreens and other grocers and convenience stores.

The company’s kiosks have already been operating in adult stores since the start of the year, and now Polar Frog has its sights set on the mainstream movie business.

So far they’ve struggled with a chicken and egg situation.

“It takes content to get a retailer, it takes a retailer to get content,” Rosenbaum said.

The company is selling its kiosks to retailers for roughly $10,000. The revenue for each movie or TV show sold will be divided with 33% going to content owners, 30% going to the retailer and the rest back to Polar Frog for operational costs (17%) and profit.

Rosenbaum said in-store burning could open new opportunities for independent suppliers that can’t hold the shelf space of the majors and for retailers, such as drugstores, that haven’t been able to be profitable in selling new release movies because of the thin margins.