Bankrupt Company Suddenly Closes ALL of Its Locations in 60 Idaho Cities

It was almost 20 years ago to the date that Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates, predicted that a certain technology would be obsolete by 2014. That prediction was off by about a decade, this latest bankruptcy filing supports exactly what he said all those years ago. 

In 2004, a German publication reported that Gates said that DVDs would become obsolete in “10 years at most.” He went on to correctly predict the creation of smart televisions that could access both movies and television shows over the internet. By the late 2010s, most families were able to afford a Smart TV. 

READ MORE: 11 Big Brands That Are Closing Idaho Locations in 2024 

The accessibility of Smart TV technology, along with devices like tablets, Fire TV sticks and Apple TV led to a boom in streaming services. Netflix was first on the scene in January 2007. Hulu launched about nine months later. Flash forward to 2024, the list of streaming services is massive. Disney+, Paramount+, Peacock, Apple TV+, MAX…

Times have certainly changed from when you’d have to hit up a Redbox when you were hosting a movie night for your family and friends. But even with a decline in physical media’s popularity, Redbox is still around. At this time, they still have about 24,000 kiosks in Idaho and across the rest of the country. However, those kiosks are about to become as nostalgic as going to a Blockbuster. 

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At the end of June, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Redbox’s parent company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Verge reports that they defaulted on loans, had company vehicles repossessed, weren’t paying employees and let employees’ health benefits lapse. At the time, it wasn’t clear if the filing would affect the Redbox kiosks. 

That’s changed. NBC reports that the company has decided to give up reorganizing to handle their debt and will liquidate instead. That means that ALL 24,000 kiosks will close and it looks like that’s happening quickly. We checked Redbox’s website shortly after the news broke and it simply says “Oops. Something unexpected happened.” 

You can still access the list of kiosks in Idaho, but when you try to browse the kiosks you get the error message “Bummer - nothing came up with those filters. To start fresh, select All Movies and search again.” 

So we went to the one at the Albertsons on Parkcenter in Boise to see if it was still on. It wasn't.

Prior to the liquidation announcement, Redbox listed kiosk locations in 60 cities across the Gem State.