Wal-Mart buying Vudu streaming movie service? (update: yes!)
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted February 22nd 2010 5:12PM
posted February 22nd 2010 5:12PM
Update: It's official, and the full press release is after the break. Walmart will be acquiring Vudu, and the deal is expected to close "within the next few weeks." We are told that Vudu will "continue developing entertainment and information delivery solutions such as Vudu Apps," but outside of that, few details (including a purchase price) are being made available.
Walmart Announces Acquisition of Digital Entertainment Provider, VUDU
Company takes next step to enhance home entertainment and information delivery options for consumers
BENTONVILLE, Ark., Feb. 22, 2010 -- Walmart announced today a definitive agreement to acquire VUDU, Inc., a leading provider of digital technologies and services that enable the delivery of entertainment content directly to broadband high-definition TVs and Blu-ray players. The deal is expected to close within the next few weeks.
VUDU is a revolutionary service, built into a growing number of broadband-ready TVs and Blu-ray players, that delivers instant access to thousands of movies and TV shows directly through the television. Customers with broadband Internet access and an Internet-ready TV or Blu-ray player can rent or purchase movies, typically in high-definition, without needing a connected computer or cable/satellite service. New movies and features will be added continually, enabling customers to enjoy a product that continues to become more robust long after they have left the store.
"The real winner here is the customer," said Eduardo Castro-Wright, vice chairman for Walmart. "Combining VUDU's unique digital technology and service with Walmart's retail expertise and scale will provide customers with unprecedented access to home entertainment options as they migrate to a digital environment."
VUDU has licensing agreements with almost every major movie studio and dozens of independent and international distributors to offer approximately 16,000 movies, including the largest 1080p library of video on-demand movies available anywhere. Via their broadband Internet connection, users have the ability to rent or buy titles and begin viewing them instantly.
VUDU will continue developing entertainment and information delivery solutions such as VUDU Apps, a platform that delivers hundreds of streaming Internet applications and services to TVs and Blu-ray players with built-in Internet connectivity. VUDU has partnered with some of the leading names in Internet and media entertainment to offer applications on its platform including Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, The New York Times and The Associated Press.
"We are excited about the opportunity to take our company's vision to the next level," said Edward Lichty, VUDU executive vice president. "VUDU's services and Apps platform will give Walmart a powerful new vehicle to offer customers the content they want in a way that expands the frontier of quality, value and convenience."
VUDU, based in Santa Clara, Calif., will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walmart. The company is not disclosing financial terms of the agreement as the acquisition is not material to its first quarter earnings for fiscal year 2011.
Company takes next step to enhance home entertainment and information delivery options for consumers
BENTONVILLE, Ark., Feb. 22, 2010 -- Walmart announced today a definitive agreement to acquire VUDU, Inc., a leading provider of digital technologies and services that enable the delivery of entertainment content directly to broadband high-definition TVs and Blu-ray players. The deal is expected to close within the next few weeks.
VUDU is a revolutionary service, built into a growing number of broadband-ready TVs and Blu-ray players, that delivers instant access to thousands of movies and TV shows directly through the television. Customers with broadband Internet access and an Internet-ready TV or Blu-ray player can rent or purchase movies, typically in high-definition, without needing a connected computer or cable/satellite service. New movies and features will be added continually, enabling customers to enjoy a product that continues to become more robust long after they have left the store.
"The real winner here is the customer," said Eduardo Castro-Wright, vice chairman for Walmart. "Combining VUDU's unique digital technology and service with Walmart's retail expertise and scale will provide customers with unprecedented access to home entertainment options as they migrate to a digital environment."
VUDU has licensing agreements with almost every major movie studio and dozens of independent and international distributors to offer approximately 16,000 movies, including the largest 1080p library of video on-demand movies available anywhere. Via their broadband Internet connection, users have the ability to rent or buy titles and begin viewing them instantly.
VUDU will continue developing entertainment and information delivery solutions such as VUDU Apps, a platform that delivers hundreds of streaming Internet applications and services to TVs and Blu-ray players with built-in Internet connectivity. VUDU has partnered with some of the leading names in Internet and media entertainment to offer applications on its platform including Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, The New York Times and The Associated Press.
"We are excited about the opportunity to take our company's vision to the next level," said Edward Lichty, VUDU executive vice president. "VUDU's services and Apps platform will give Walmart a powerful new vehicle to offer customers the content they want in a way that expands the frontier of quality, value and convenience."
VUDU, based in Santa Clara, Calif., will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walmart. The company is not disclosing financial terms of the agreement as the acquisition is not material to its first quarter earnings for fiscal year 2011.
Vudu = excellent encoding / streaming technology / interface
Walmart = The power to offer excellent prices on movies/television.
WELCOME TO THUNDERDOME APPLE TV.
If I get a WalMart service online, I want ambient screaming child noises and the wiff of beer/body odor. Nothing can replace the brick and moron experience.
You know, regarding the screenshot (Yes, I know it's just for illustrative purposes), I'd rather LG get the BD390 to stream from MediaLink on my Mac, given that it's supposedly DLNA compatible. Not to mention give me an audio sync setting. We can't get Netflix, CinemaNow or anything like that here in Australia...
The VUDU Service is only available, and content can only be downloaded, within the 50 States of the United States of America.
I don't shop at Wal-Mart nor do I have any love for the company, but I actually think this might be a good thing for streaming services and consumers.
Lets face it, even with the recent foray on LG TV's and blu-ray players, Vudu was still not doing that great. Few people knew about them and while their quality was fantastic, their selection (and bizarre 20 dollar at a time payment scheme) was not so hot. Netflix was leaving them and all the other streaming services in the dust. Without somebody big to back them they would have eventually been pushed out the door by total Netflix domination.
With Wal-Mart's name recognition and buying muscle behind Vudu, they may just be able to get the exposure and selection they need to be a real competitor to Netflix.
@minimalist:
>I don't shop at Wal-Mart
You're missing out; their Great Value brand raisins are pretty good.
Wow, didn't see that coming...
I don't see why everyone hates Walmart so much. They take everything you can posibly need and sell it at extremly resonable prices. They use there strength and influence, not to mention ridiculouse sales revenue and convince "pressure" people to exclusivly sell there product at walmart driving their competion crazy, causing them to lower their prices. I just think that if walmart can afford to buy and sucessfully sell a product that makes our lives easier or cheaper, then go for it.
@cjimmbo123
I don't understand the hate either. Sure, they force some small companies out of business... but there are still plenty of small businesses surviving near a Wal-Mart. Example: you can get your oil changed at our Super Wal-Mart... yet there are literally 10 other oil change places within a mile of Wal-Mart.
If Sam Walton didn't start Wal-Mart almost 50 years ago.... some other guy named Jim Smith would have started "Smith-Mart" and it would be just as big today. It's called capitalism.
Wal-Mart was once a small business... but they succeeded in taking over the world. Anyone could have done that.
Those execs and engineers at VuDu are sure to enjoy their new digs at WM corporate. I hear Bentonville, AR is just like Santa Clara, CA. That C++ to COBOL cross-compiler is supposed to be state of the art.
@Ed T : actually, Wally Whirl has almost liberated itself from those neolithic legacy systems (unless you count *nix). But you're right, COBOL is like those Japanese soldiers they were finding twenty years after the war, except it has somehow raised offspring in the caves.
Anyone know why LG doesn't offer Vudu through their bd 370 blu ray player?
So now that Wally World is getting booted out of suburban communities, what they have no other place than go and buy up prime Internet real estate?
Hope the VUDU worker bees like being locked in after hours?
@cjimmbo123 : I've only had two real problems with Wal-Mart: that whole phony "made in America" thing and their systematic employment of illegal aliens. Even in my rural mid-South area they did this - a Russian cleaning crew, for Chrissake!. Also, the more they dominate a market the less competitive they become, which gives surviving alternatives a chance. I can do just as well on a lot of stuff at other local stores. Wally's strength is putting the lowest prices and largest selection *overall* under one roof (at least in their bigger stores - the smaller ones are rather hit and miss sometimes). Even so, all I buy there is groceries and the occasional article of everyday clothing. I know their cutting corners every way they can, so for anything else I go to a specialty store where I know the quality will be higher and the selection greater.
So does this mean VUDU's adult content is going bye bye now?
Crap...
I've boycotted Wal-mart for more then 3 years now.
I have been thinking about streaming content from sources such as vudo...
but it WalMart owns it.. i'll look elsewhere.