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AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

No plans to replace Hippo Video DVD rental kiosk, University official says

The University removed the Hippo Video DVD rental kiosk from its home in Ivory Tower earlier this month, and a University official said last week there are no plans to replace it.

The University’s contract with Hippo Video expired this summer, Nancy Haaga, the managing director of Campus Support Services, said. Adding that because Hippo Video suffered numerous breakdowns and brought in little revenue the University decided against renewing the contract.

“As a result of the number of convenient and user friendly options that students have to download or rent movies. the usage of the Hippo Video machine became very minimal over the period of the past few years,” Haaga said in an e-mail.

Haaga said that after contacting RedBox – a DVD-rental kiosk company – and Blockbuster about their options for a new rental system for students, both companies passed on the investment.

“Both companies declined the opportunity, indicating that they are reviewing and giving careful consideration about whether or not they want to expand their movie rental machines to the higher education [or] campus environment market,” Haaga said.

Student Association President Jason Lifton – who has said in the past that he felt Hippo Video’s unreliable service was unacceptable – said he isn’t surprised the University decided to remove the kiosk.

“It is hard because so many students have purchased subscriptions to services such as Netflix and Netflix On Demand,” Lifton said.

Lifton added that the removal may actually be beneficial to the University.

“Hippo Video was a waste of space in the basement of Ivory Tower,” Lifton said. “It was never working and just took up space.”

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