Sears and Kmart launch streaming video service this Christmas
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted June 23rd 2010 10:49AM
posted June 23rd 2010 10:49AM
As physical media sales continue to drop it looks like the smart money is in streaming content. Now Sears (and Kmart, which it owns) is getting in the game with the Alphaline Entertainment service. Powered by Sonic's RoxioNow (which is the same architecture that as Best Buy and Wal-Mart's services), Alphaline will be available on TVs and Blu-ray players manufactured by Sharp, LG, Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, and RCA. Setup of your device is included in the sale price, which is pretty great on the off chance you are less able to setup consumer electronics than your typical Kmart employee. Keep an eye out for the service this holiday season. PR after the break.
TradeTheTrend - June 22, 2010 - Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:SHLD) and Kmart will carry a new digital video service called Alphaline Entertainment beginning this holiday season, for televisions and Blu-ray players made by Sony Corp. (NYSE:SNE), Panasonic Corp. (NYSE:PC), LG, Samsung, Sharp and RCA.
Alphaline Entertainment is comparable to the video service already offered by Best Buy Co. (NYSE:BBY) and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT), which allows customers to set up the service in-store and take it home to view movies right away.
The soon-to-be offered service by Sears and Kmart will use Sonic Solutions' (NASDAQ:SNIC) RoxioNow technology platform to stream nearly 5,000 new releases already available from the service.
"Moving from Blockbuster and Best Buy to Sears/Kmart shows that those retailers who reach a broad base of consumers are really wanting to embrace digital services," said Sonic Solutions' head of strategy Mark Ely.
Sonic Solutions' streaming media library is available through Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE:BBI) online, Best Buy, and Sears and Kmart later this year; Wal-Mart opted to purchase streaming-video service Vudu instead of partnering with Sonic Solutions.
Sonic officials say that retailers are new to the idea of web-connected services, and due to consumer trends and surge in web-based media sales, are now pushing it forward.
"We see the DVD business declining over the next couple [of] years," said Sears and Kmart's vice president of home electronics Elliot Becker. "We wanted to offer a service on all of the devices we sell, not just TVs, but Blu-ray (players), tablets, all the devices we're in or going to get into."
Shares of Sears are trading up 0.36% early Tuesday at $74.92, whereas shares of Sonic Solutions are down 0.83% at $8.39.
Alphaline Entertainment is comparable to the video service already offered by Best Buy Co. (NYSE:BBY) and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT), which allows customers to set up the service in-store and take it home to view movies right away.
The soon-to-be offered service by Sears and Kmart will use Sonic Solutions' (NASDAQ:SNIC) RoxioNow technology platform to stream nearly 5,000 new releases already available from the service.
"Moving from Blockbuster and Best Buy to Sears/Kmart shows that those retailers who reach a broad base of consumers are really wanting to embrace digital services," said Sonic Solutions' head of strategy Mark Ely.
Sonic Solutions' streaming media library is available through Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE:BBI) online, Best Buy, and Sears and Kmart later this year; Wal-Mart opted to purchase streaming-video service Vudu instead of partnering with Sonic Solutions.
Sonic officials say that retailers are new to the idea of web-connected services, and due to consumer trends and surge in web-based media sales, are now pushing it forward.
"We see the DVD business declining over the next couple [of] years," said Sears and Kmart's vice president of home electronics Elliot Becker. "We wanted to offer a service on all of the devices we sell, not just TVs, but Blu-ray (players), tablets, all the devices we're in or going to get into."
Shares of Sears are trading up 0.36% early Tuesday at $74.92, whereas shares of Sonic Solutions are down 0.83% at $8.39.
Fun-Fact: Kmart was actually the one that bought Sears but they decided to keep the Sears branding by calling the merged companies Sears Holdings.
@KangXi Cool I always thought it was the other way around.
@KangXi Correct.
@Nn4458 Yea, I was working there when the merger happened. We were all shocked when a failing company like Kmart was able to buy us.That was basically Kmart's last ditch effort to stay in the game since they were doing so bad. Now most Kmart stores are even being converted to Sears or closed.
@KangXi
There is still a K Mart in my town, has been there for over 30 years, but the Wal Mart that set up shop less than a quarter mile away in the 90's has almost completely killed it. I still shop at K Mart since I am very much against Wal Mart, and won't set foot in one, so I hope the Big K survives! But this just seems like a bad idea for K Mart & Sears, I do not associate either with technology on any level. I would expect poor implementation.
@KangXi
Kmart scumbagged many small business for the cash to buy sears, they declared bankruptcy after knowing long in advance that they were never going to pay on items they received and sold. a family friend who owns a lamp company get fkd out 1m+$
Kmart? What's that? Must be a Chinese knock-off of Walmart.
Possibly the other way around. Kmart (under a different name) started 63 years before Walmart.
@nrb RMA your sarcasm detector immediately.
@hmmwv If my sarcasm detector wasn't working, I'm pretty sure I would have reacted differently.
I bought my Nintendo NES from Kmart. Ahh memories.
K-mart owns sears not the other way around. Look it up.
Sears and Kmart end streaming video service this New Year's Day
I for one will not be wasting any money on this service.
The Public Relations blondie is easy on the eyes, even if it looks like she doesn't know what the words she is being told to say even mean.
@Hazdaz
Really? To me she looks like an example of entering the uncanny valley from the opposite end. I'm pretty sure half the muscles most people use on their face aren't working for her.
@TheOtherJames
But I think that comes from the fact that she has no idea what any of the stuff she is reading even means.
It's like reading some phonetically written Latin. Sure, you can pronounce the words, but chances are you don't know if you should be smiling, looking serious, or even where to add inflections.... so you end up not doing any of that.
Either way, I'd throw it into her - it looks like enough of her facial muscles work to make it a fun time for at least one of us.
So where can I get the newscasters phone number. She is hot!!
Only if you like mannequins.
Not that there's anything wrong with that!
@emax
You can't get her phone number, since she's just a person in a video and you don't know her.
Awww, look at Sears Holding company trying to stay relevant....
Fuck em.
The line they cut just after the video ended... "What the hell did I just read?"
Congratulations the blond can read.
YES!!! I can't wait.
When I think of excellent technology for this digital age we live in, I definitely think of a dirty Kmart.
Do not want.
W
T
F
?
You have got to be kidding me.
ka-ching!
That's the sound of broadband providers jacking up their prices knowing that in order to use all these new streaming services you are going to need their services to do it.
Fun fact, I'm pretty certain that's the Sears in Salem, Oregon. That place was my first "real job" back in the mid-90s just after high school. Wonder why Engadget chose that picture...
FYI, Kmart did purchase Sears and has been outperforming Sears in sales for a couple years now. As a matter of fact, Kmart's same store sales have beaten Wal-Mart and Target over the last 3 quarters. Kmart's same store sales have been up over that period while Wal-Mart's have been down.
@bufbarnaby
for some reason i didn't understand a word that Christie Duffy said. all i kept thinking was, she sure is purty.
will Kmart give me live feeds to show me how disorganized all the aisles are?
Sears, Kmart, Sonic Roxio, video streaming... smells like failure.
Sears and Kmart launch streaming vid- wha?? I don't even...
Listen. Can everyone hear that? No just put your head up to your monitor and listen. That is the sound of a million people not caring about anything tech related from Sears. I'll be as popular as their girlfriend body pillow.
Engadget: Hire this woman!
I've never been more entertained by tech news in my life!
Thanks for the (digital) ink.
We think think makes sense for our customers; if someone buys a TV from Sears or Kmart, we're giving them the option of streaming videos through our service; it'll come on the device already.
(NOTE: I'm the social media manager for Sears/Kmart Electronics.)