Redbox to close DVD kiosks. What does that mean for physical media's future?

For years, we've seen those red kiosks all over, often outside a Kroger or Walgreens. Those Redbox DVD kiosks will soon be going away. This follows Best Buy recently announcing the end of their DVD sales.

So, where do things stand for physical media? We knew just the place to talk about it.

You can see that place in the player above.

"With the Star Wars movies in particular, there were a lot of editions," said Doug Mabry, looking over a shelf of DVDs. "Some versions have Han shooting first and some don't."

It's a fun gig getting to work around the kind of stuff people love. That's what Doug gets to do as manager of The Great Escape in Madison.

"Classic Robert Wise film, 'The Haunting,'" Doug said, picking up a DVD to showcase. "Filmed in black and white."

"We're a pop culture emporium," he continued. "Toys, comic books, CDs, records, anything pop culture you want, we got it."

That includes a whole lot of DVDs.

You don't have to watch "Dynasty" to have an attitude, but Doug's got season DVDs right there on his shelves anyway.

We were catching him on a day there are conversations happening about physical media.

The parent company of DVD kiosk-rental business Redbox is shutting down in bankruptcy. The company peaked in 2013 with nearly $2 billion in revenue. Now, the 24,000 DVD kiosks are closing as streaming continues its dominance.

"I had not heard it until today, but it did not surprise me," Doug said.

So, what does that mean for the future of physical media?

"It's not going to leave us," Doug continued. "It's going to change, as markets always change, but it will not go away."

Doug said that while DVD sales are more of a niche market today, the interest remains due in part to nostalgia and availability issues.

"What you want may be on a streaming service today, but tomorrow, they may pull it off," Doug said. "Due to licensing rights, stuff isn't just always available."

The interest in physical media can be seen in Nashville this week. Thousands took part in a road trip Tuesday to earn $800 in store credit from McKay's, a place that has a lot of physical media in their inventory.

"For collectors, there's always the joy of physically owning a copy," Doug said.

At the Great Escape, Doug continues to stock shelves with classics with curiosities. If you didn't know there was a romantic comedy where Andy Kaufman and Bernadette Peters play robots in love, it's called Heartbeeps, and it's on Doug's shelf.

"I think there's always going to be demand to physically own a copy," he said. "I think DVDs are going to be around for quite a while."

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