James Tenser

Wal-Mart Hopes Third Time a Charm in Movie Rentals

February 23, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Back in 2005, Wal-Mart Stores decided its venture to rent movies online wasn't going where it wanted. In 2007, the retailer took another shot at the movie rental business using a download service...Now, Wal-Mart is hoping the third time's a charm with the acquisition of Vudu.... Will Wal-Mart Stores' purchase of Vudu make it a force in the movie rental business?      [more...]

Vudu certainly has some influential fans. New York Times columnist David Pogue delivered raves in a recent column: http://tinyurl.com/yh74yda. "Vudu is a feature, not a box," he explains.

But streaming movies with Vudu requires very high Internet bandwidth to deliver a satisfactory hi-def experience. This limitation makes be suspect that Walmart may not rapidly acquire a massive user base with this foray.

If it was serious about being the Walmart of movie distribution, some have suggested, it would have acquired Netflix--a more expensive proposition, but with a much larger installed base and brand awareness. Compared with that alternative, buying Vudu seems like a dabble, not a commitment.