Vudu, Walmart's streaming service, to be bought by Comcast-owned Fandango
Fandango dang sure isn't selling movie theater tickets anymore. And Walmart appears to be easing out of the video-on-demand business, and into... something else.
On Monday, Walmart's video-on-demand service Vudu announced it will be acquired by Fandango Media, the online movie ticketing service owned by beloathed cable and internet access behemoth Comcast.
Here's the official announcement on the Vudu Customer Help website: "Fandango to Purchase Vudu."
From Reuters:
Walmart bought Vudu over a decade ago, but the service, which allows customers to either buy or rent movies and TV shows, still lags far behind the monthly viewership numbers that competitors Netflix Inc and Hulu pull in.
But Comcast is betting it can give the site a boost with Fandango, as the loss of cable TV subscribers forces it to focus its future around its internet business.
(...)Vudu, which also offers a free ad-supported streaming option, said here it will not be shutting down and will still operate separately from the FandangoNow pay-per-view service.
More at Reuters.
Observations from reporters and links to related early news coverage, below.
Fandango plans to maintain a Vudu office in the Sunnyvale, Calif., area and Fandango will be making job offers to the majority of Vudu employees https://t.co/W81O3Yj9T1
- Todd Spangler (@xpangler) April 20, 2020
There's no indication yet if, or how, Comcast's various streaming platforms (Peacock, FandangoNow, Xumo and now Vudu) will coexist https://t.co/yRVDnZw3UV
- Jason Lynch (@jasonlynch) April 20, 2020
Fandango will buy Vudu, Walmart's movies-on-demand service https://t.co/ugthnHl4QS
- LAT Entertainment (@latimesent) April 20, 2020
Fandango can't sell you movie tickets right now but it can rent you digital movies. It's purchasing Walmart's Vudu to bolster that part of its business. https://t.co/xXOqkaASVi
- Natalie Jarvey (@natjarv) April 20, 2020
NBCU is expected to merge the operations of Vudu and FandangoNow once the deal closes, but for now "there will be no immediate changes to either service," according to the FAQ on Vudu's site https://t.co/W81O3Yj9T1 pic.twitter.com/jZfxEl9KnM
- Todd Spangler (@xpangler) April 20, 2020
Blogging about streaming is now:
Fandango, owned by Comcast, could benefit from Vudu, which is also now owned by Comcast, as movie studios like NBCUniversal, owned by Comcast, look to use digital retailers and streaming platforms, like Peacock, also owned by Comcast, etc etc etc
- Julia Alexander (@loudmouthjulia) April 20, 2020