Fandango to Buy Vudu From Walmart
Fandango is getting a little bit bigger. As of Sunday night, the NBCUniversal-owned Fandango has [...]
Fandango is getting a little bit bigger. As of Sunday night, the NBCUniversal-owned Fandango has agreed in principle to snatch up Vudu from Walmart, a move the big-box store has been looking to make for quite some time. Vudu confirmed the news Sunday night through a post on its official blog. For the immediate future, it appears Vudu will keep operating as-is, with Fandango just footing the bill. A final deal has yet to be reached (via The Verge) though it's expected to close at some point in the coming months.
Interestingly enough, Vudu is a direct competitor to FandangoNOW, the existing video-on-demand service owned by NBCUniversal. Both FandangoNOW and Vudu offer digital downloads of films and television shows once studios make it available. Neither service, however, will be a direct competitor to NBC's soon-to-launch Peacock, a traditional OTT subscription-based service.
"Vudu has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Fandango, the ultimate digital network for all things movies & TV," Vudu's statement reads. "While there will be many more exciting things to share in the months ahead, nothing about the Vudu experience is changing – your movie & TV library is safe, and you will continue to have access to all your Vudu apps across your favorite devices. Vudu will continue to deliver an amazing experience, and we promise that the future will bring more new features, offerings, and other benefits as we join the Fandango family."
Vudu has been a go-to service for many in either redeeming digital codes bought with physical home media discs or for those looking to just purchase digital movies. The service has about as wide of a reach as possible, available on over 100 million different devices. According to Walmart, the Vudu mobile app has upwards of 14 million downloads. FandangoNOW, on the other hand, has a reported base including 60 million active monthly users.
As of April 14th, Peacock chairman Matt Strauss confirmed the platform is still targeting July for an official launch. "That is something we're evaluating," Strauss said during a conference call about the service's launch. "We certainly see the value, but with the team working from home, for now July is still the target date."
What's your go-to VOD service? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!
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