HOUSTON, Nov. 2, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- If you've never rented a DVD at a kiosk in a supermarket or grocery store before, you could have your first night free, thanks to a special promotion now underway by The New Release(tm) at 121 of its DVD rental kiosks in selected H-E-B and Kroger supermarkets and grocery stores throughout Texas.
"We want as many shoppers as possible to benefit from the convenience and lower cost of kiosk DVD rentals, particularly in our home state of Texas where we began," stated Tony Sciolla, Chief Marketing Officer for TNR Entertainment Corp., parent company of The New Release, the nation's largest owner and operator of self-service DVD rental kiosks in supermarkets and grocery stores.
"Our 'First Movie Free' promotion is a perfect introduction to what more than a million New Release customers have already discovered -- renting the most popular current DVD releases can be painless, essentially adding it to your grocery list and avoiding separate trips to another location to rent and return, and eliminating expensive late fees," Sciolla added.
H-E-B and Kroger stores participating in the special promotion are located in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Galveston, and selected suburban areas. For a list of participating supermarkets and grocery stores, see TNR's website, www.thenewrelease.com.
The New Release automated DVD rental kiosks provide supermarket customers with a more convenient one-stop shopping experience. As the Company's kiosks are being introduced in new markets, more consumers are able to enjoy renting the latest DVD titles for $1-a-day and no late fees -- a simple and affordable pricing structure that TNR was the first to successfully market. TNR's kiosks house up to 1,000 units each, representing more than 200 titles, including top new releases. The fully-automated kiosks operate on a wireless communications network and next-generation DVD kiosk operating system.
With nearly one million customers served and more than five million DVDs rented since its inception in 2002, privately-held TNR, based in Houston, dominates the self-service DVD rental category in the grocery channel. The Company currently serves over 200,000 customers monthly across more than 850 locations in such grocery chains as A&P, Food Lion, H-E-B, Kroger/King Sooper, Publix, Roundy's/Pick 'N Save, Safeway/Randall's and Spartan/Family Fare.
Led by TNR Entertainment's new management team of Richard Cohen, Chief Executive Officer, and Jeff Karbowiak, Chief Operating Officer, the Company has launched an aggressive expansion of its retail locations this year with the goal of quadrupling its kiosk network by 2007. A recently expanded partnership with The Kroger Co., which has agreed to install additional TNR automated DVD rental kiosks at 1,300 selected locations across the country, will make TNR a national company. The added kiosks under the new Kroger agreement are expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2007.
TNR also recently completed a capital infusion of $45 million to support this major expansion into nationwide markets, which will more than double TNR's installed base and establish the Company in 25 new geographic markets.
TNR Entertainment Corp. is backed by an institutional investor group including Celerity Partners, LP of Los Angeles; Chapton Partners, LP, a Houston family partnership; Laminar Direct Capital, L.P., a member of the D.E. Shaw group of companies; and MCG Capital Corporation (Nasdaq:MCGC), a leading specialized financial services company and financial advisor.
