Register

I agree with the Privacy Policy

TMCnet

Walmart To Purchase VUDU

February 22, 2010

After abandoning its initial online video plans in late 2007, Walmart has returned to this market with the announced acquisition of VUDU on February 22. With Best Buy working with Roxio CinemaNow, will Walmart leverage the VUDU acquisition to develop its own branded connected CE products? "Walmart is re-entering the OTT (over-the-top) market at an opportune time," said Kurt Scherf, Vice President, Principal Analyst, Parks Associates. "Parks Associates' consumer research of online video services indicates that usage from paying users for movie rentals, movie downloads, and TV downloads has doubled between 2008 and 2009." Parks Associates forecasts that revenues for premium video rentals and downloads in the U.S. will grow from $2.3 billion in 2010 to $8.4 billion in 2014.

Given VUDU's recent efforts to transition from a hardware vendor providing set-top boxes to a backend service provider of OTT content for connected CE devices, Parks Associates believes that this acquisition is an opportunity for Walmart to become a "category catalyst" in connected consumer electronics. VUDU currently is working with such CE vendors as LG, Mitsubishi, Samsung, SANYO, Sharp, Toshiba, and VIZIO.

Parks Associates projects that by 2014, more than 40% of transactional revenues for premium online video services will be through connected devices such as connected TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles, and networked digital media set-top boxes. The presence of Walmart, with its retail muscle now in the online video space, could mean significant growth in the number and availability of Web-enabled consumer electronics products.

From the article, "Walmart To Purchase VUDU"

Previously In The News

Rovi Launches Advertising Trial Program for App Developers

As connected device adoption ascends and consumer affinity for apps intensifies, new revenue opportunities are emerging such as those provided by Rovi Advertising Network, said Heather Way, senior...

Parks Brings Out Report on U.S. Broadband Households

Parks Associates announced that 78 percent of U.S. broadband households had a home network router in 2012, up from 54 percent in 2009, with adoption reaching 95 percent by 2016. According to a...

U.S. SMBs Interested in New Support Services From Broadband Service Providers, Electronic Retailers, and CE Manufacturers

Parks Associates finds 55-65% of U.S. SMBs prefer phone and email tech support options over face-to-face service. According to "Small/Medium Business: Tech Support Opportunities," 54% of SMBs prefe...

Over One-Third of Smartphone and Tablet Users Use Mobile Devices as TV Guides

Parks Associates, host of CONNECTIONS™ at CTIA 2013, announced new mobile and app research today showing consumers are increasingly using mobile devices and second-screen apps as alternatives to tr...

‹
1
2
...
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
›