Walmart Acquires Online Movie Service

BENTONVILLE: Retail giant Walmart is acquiring VUDU, which delivers movies and TV shows to the television set over a broadband connection without a monthly subscription fee.

VUDU is already being bundled into broadband-ready TV sets and Blu-ray players from a host of consumer electronics companies, including LG, Samsung and Toshiba. Consumers can also purchase a VUDU box to connect to their TV sets for $149 from Best Buy.

"The real winner here is the customer," said Eduardo Castro-Wright, the 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 Hollywood studios as well as independent distributors, delivering a library of about 16,000 films. Customers can rent or buy titles for on-demand viewing. "We are excited about the opportunity to take our company’s vision to the next level," said Edward Lichty, VUDU’s executive VP  "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."