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Report: Walmart Buys Vudu [Updated]
Citing "two people briefed on the deal," the New York Times says Walmart and Vudu have already begun informing Hollywood studios and TV manufacturers about the deal.
Terms of the acquisition have not been determined.
The acquisition of Vudu, a start-up based in Santa Clara, Calif. founded in 2007, would put Walmart, one of the world’s largest retailers of DVDs, in direct competition with Netflix and Amazon for digital movie dominance.
Rumors began swirling about Vudu's demise in 2008 after the developer of IP-based video on demand went through layoffs and CEO Mark Jung left.
In 2009, Vudu stopped making hardware and began offering its service through Vudu Apps on devices from LG Electronics, Mitsubishi, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Toshiba, and Vizio.
According to The New York Times, Panasonic and Sony are the only major manufacturers that have not yet added Vudu to their devices.
Walmart has been unsuccessful in past attempts to compete in the digital media world. The company introduced a music download service in 2004 that has been overshadowed by iTunes, and it experimented with an online video download service with Hewlett Packard, canceling the service less than one year after it launched.
Official Press Release: Walmart Acquires Vudu
Walmart issues this press release this afternoon:
Walmart Announces Acquisition of Digital Entertainment Provider, VUDU
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.
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News · Video · Digital Media · Media Servers · Big-box Retailers · Mergers And Acquisitions · Vudu ·About the Author
13 Comments (displayed in order by date/time)
So do you get it YET!!! Walmart buys Vudu to try and get into the content delivery market. Best Buy is now have products built exclusively for them with the added label BLUE. All things to benefit their business model and drive the integration firms into being a devalued commodity.
So as they say in the movies, “What are you prepared to do?” Are you still going to support product lines that sell to these chains!? Are you going to sit back and hope the clients won’t go down that path because you know your team is more talented and experienced?
I love all of the posts bitching and moaning about why and how the channel is SO GREAT. Well its time to wake up and save your own industry because at the rate its going and with your support of mass merchandised products your going to help yourself go out of business.
Vudu just another company who came to the CEDIA channel to learn what works and what doesn’t. Use the channel to get established and exposed to PR and become known. Then THANKS we’re selling See Ya’.
Vudu is DooDoo!
I guess you won’t be able to watch any of my movies any more on Vudu. Once WalMart cleans up the content and makes it more family friendly I won’t be in your living room any more.
@Jenna Jameson
Don’t worry, people will still watch. I’ve been told there are many other ways to get your movies.
I am gonna miss you Steve.
Their hypocritical puritanism is just one of the many reasons I’ll never again shop at Wally World. Too bad as Vudu was beginning to look like something it was worth giving a try!
Great, this story is now making me relive the “Heart of Wallmart” repeat episode of South Park I caught the other night.
We have to stop them before its too late!!
;P
AV Guy you are right. But look 2-3 years down the road and we will not be selling or installing anything but a display, an ethernet switch and a UI installed via an app store on the customers iPhone, Touch, Pad device. The days of selling (and profiting from) source components are dead. The CI companies that will be left standing will be the ones that totally understand IP and can design and install 100% operational control systems. The only thing that will differentiate companies will be their ability to execute.
Just received this from a friend who works at Wal Mart HQ:
“No, most Vudu subscribers will leave as soon as all the non-family entertainment is removed.
HP did the original Walmart online video - they only wanted to provide clean family entertainment - they never got more than 1/2 of 1 percent of the market. Most R stuff had to be redone for their site - most customers left after the 1st week. The week before it was shut down there was rarely more than 20 downloads running at any time - they were setup for 50,000 at a time with ability to scale to 500,000.
Vudu has (had) an adult section - no more - Walmart will remove all that content once they take over.”
Wallmart has always been know for their, “Pro Religious Right,” attitude. This has always amazed me due to the way they treat their employees and how they threaten manufacturers in the back filled smokey rooms to get their way/price.
There’s an old saying, “The Moral Majority is neither.” Hypocrites!!! I can’t wait for them to start selling, “Warning! I brake for Negroes.,” bumper stickers.
Aisle 7, next to the pine tree air fresheners and Tazmanian Devil floor mats.
Walmart ain’t getting a penny from me. Not now, not ever. Streaming HD still has years to go before it will equal the tech specs of physical media (Blu-ray) and you don’t get the bonus material from streaming options. So for now, I’ll just stick with my tried and true Netflix for all my viewing/renting needs. Their library is the best bar none, their turnaround time for disc delivery is whipfast, and their streaming (if you have a good internet connetion) is perfectly serviceable for a quick flick fix. And best of all, I’m not supporting the wholesale evil that is Walmart.
Interesting….
Walmart also tried in the past to compete with Netflix to no success with their movie rental service. some of the reasons where lack of titles in their library compared to the comprehensive library Netflix offers.
It will be very interesting to see how this aquisition plays for Walmart and Vudu in the coming months/years.