(Image Source: Walmart)
BY DANNY MATTESON
ANCHOR JOSH FRYDMAN
You're watching multisource video news analysis from Newsy.
Is Walmart kicking Netflix while it’s down?
In the midst of backlash over recent pricing changes, the box-store giant jumped into the streaming video ring with it’s new service, Vudu.
The Chicago Tribune has the details.
“A cloud-based video movie service, Vudu lets customers rent or buy movies over the Internet and stream them to their TVs, Blu-ray players and a variety of Vudu-enabled devices such as Sony's PlayStation 3 and HDTVs from LG Electronics, Sharp and Panasonic.”
And the service Walmart purchased 18 months ago is no puny contender. TechCrunch points out--
“This isn’t a subscription service. It’s on-demand with rentals available from $1 to $5.99 and purchases starting at $4.99. That’s the same way Vudu has always worked. Except this time it’s available directly on the website of America’s largest retailer.”
...and other commentators see another advantage -- pricing possibilities.
“Walmart’s known for providing products and services at the lowest price possible so I would expect Vudu to maintain and be one of the most affordable ways to stream that kind of high quality content into your living room.”
With those advantages -- writers at the Orlando Sentinel believe Walmart’s new service just might have a shot at knocking out Netflix.
“...while I like the convenience and price of Netflix streaming, their selection sucks. That is how you catch them... Netflix, having a stranglehold on the market, hasn’t been motivated to ‘get better’ for the past year or two... They’d better.”
But GigaOM notes--the new service is by no means perfect.
“Now for the bad news: For those that want to stream videos in HD, they’ll have to watch the movie on one of Vudu’s supported devices. While many purists will only want the highest quality video, for many Walmart shoppers new to streaming movies online, that might not be a big deal.”
Finally CNN points out--this isn’t the world’s largest retailer’s first foray into the streaming industry.
“The retailer abandoned its online DVD rental business in 2005 after it failed to take off. As part of the shutdown process, Walmart directed customers to Netflix...Wal-Mart again launched a video download service in 2006...It also quietly shut down that service a year later.”
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