Comcast is combining the brand power of its recommendation platform, Rotten Tomatoes, with the heft of its clip and trailer curation channel, Movieclips, to form the Rotten Tomatoes YouTube Network.

The collection of more than 100,000 movie and TV show trailers, as well as assorted entertainment-related clips, launches with a base of 90 million subscribers out of the gate.

In addition to providing movie and TV scenes and trailers, the new channel will feature original shows with top Tomatometer-rated movie and TV lists, celebrity interviews, entertainment news, coverage of industry events and festivals, and Rotten Tomatoes’ fan debates and discussions.  

“Combining the global brand recognition and trust of Rotten Tomatoes with Movieclips’ legendary library of clips and trailers, we can be an even more comprehensive resource for fans for content recommendation and engagement across the growing world of movies, TV and streaming," said Mark Young, senior VP and general manager Rotten Tomatoes.

Both Rotten Tomatoes and Movieclips operate out of Comcast's Fandango division. 

Movieclips has been building content heft and subscriber mass for 11 years. It was purchased by Comcast. 

Rotten Tomatoes, meanwhile, resided at Warner Bros., along with Flixster, when both were picked up by Comcast in 2016 for an also undisclosed price. 

Comcast’s Fandango unit has combined its two transactional services, FandangoNow and Vudu, and will now operate one rental/sale platform under the “Vudu” moniker. 

The Vudu rebrand will extend to the official movie and TV show rental store on Roku, which previously carried the Fandango moniker. 

Fandango's newly combined digital store will offer more than 200,000 new release and catalog movies and TV shows, thousands of which will be available for free AVOD viewing. 

Fandango has operated two transactional services since last year, when it acquired Vudu, a platform with more than 60 million registered users, from Walmart. 

“At Fandango, we’ve been building a digital network that super-serves tens of millions of fans across the entire entertainment lifecycle, from movie and TV discovery with Rotten Tomatoes, to our three theatrical ticketing apps and now an even larger scale Vudu on-demand streaming destination,” said Fandango President Paul Yanover, in a statement. “During a time where consumers have a myriad of viewing options, we’re proud to deliver a service that presents an unparalleled library of content, many titles that are not available on subscription services, and the flexibility to pay as you go.”

Added Tedd Cittadine, VP of content partnerships for Roku: ”Consumer excitement for premium video on-demand has grown significantly as users turn to streaming to access the latest movies and TV show releases. We’re thrilled to continue our long-standing partnership with Fandango as we build a future where all TV will be streamed by creating a seamless experience for users to discover and enjoy premium video on-demand releases.”

Almost three month after its initial day-and-date release of Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max set aflame the hair of filmmakers, talent guild leaders and other Hollywood stakeholders, WarnerMedia’s distribution strategy has received yet one more bit of validating news.

Comcast said WW84 was the top earning title on transactional service Vudu for the week ended Sunday. The movie was the No. 2 ranked selection on Comcast’s other rental and sale platform, FandangoNow, for the week. The No. 1 FandangoNow title? The Little Things, the WarnerMedia serial-killer drama, another day-and-date release, that’s still available on HBO Now. 

The Vudu and FandangoNow rankings don’t break out what the movies actually earned on the platforms, of course. 

To date, WW84 has earned over $165 million in global box office, while The Little Things has made just more than $28.5 million. 

“Some of our industry’s biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service,” filmmaker Christopher Nolan said in early December, two weeks before WW84’s Christmas Day release. 

Yeah. Sucks. 

WarnerMedia just upped the growth guidance for HBO Max, and is now suggesting it could reach 150 million subscribers by 2025. 

Vudu, the on-demand streaming service, launched Tuesday on Comcast’s Xfinity X1 and Xfinity Flex platforms.

Comcast’s Fandango unit acquired Vudu from Walmart last April. Fandango is part of Comcast’s NBCUniversal division.

“Fandango has worked with Xfinity for many years, and we are thrilled to add Vudu’s comprehensive movie and TV offerings to X1 and Flex,” said Mark Young, Fandango senior VP, global Strategy, business and corporate development. “Vudu’s vast library of premium content will now be available to millions of X1 and Flex fans, giving them more ways to enjoy the best entertainment through Xfinity.”

Also Read: Is Comcast Getting Ready to Expand Xfinity Flex Out of Footprint?

Comcast cable has been making more internet-based streaming services available through X1 in order to slow cord cutting. X1 also features Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, YouTube, HBO Max, CBS All Access and NBCU’s Peacock and Comcast’s Xumo.

Xfinity customers will be able to access Vudu’s catalog of more than 150,000 movies and TV shows, including some new releases unavailable on subscription services by saying Vudu into the Xfinity Voice Remote.

Titles debuting on Vudu in March include The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run and Golden Globe winners Minari, The Mauritanian and Pixar’s Soul.

Vudu is also available through most streaming players, Android and iOS devices, game consoles and Blu-ray players.

Comcast has moved forward with the purchase of video transactional service Vudu from Walmart.

Terms of the deal weren’t announced.

Officially, Comcast’s Fandango movie-ticket-selling business, operated through NBCUniversal, is making the purchase. Fandango previously competed in the business of renting and selling digital movie and TV shows through its four-year-old FandangoNow brand. FandangoNow was created after Fandango purchased digital movie seller M-Go from Technicolor in 2016.

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In December, Fandango announced that FandangoNow had 60 million monthly visitors checking out its catalog of more than 100,000 film and television titles.

Vudu was launched back in 2004 and purchased by Walmart in 2010.

Related: NBCU in Advanced Talks to Acquire Walmart's Vudu: Report

Fandango said it will maintain a Vudu office in the Sunnyvale, California and keep current Vudu staff in place. On its website, Vudu reassured users that their past purchases will remain safe and accessible, and existing usernames and passwords will still work.

Walmart said Vudu is available on 100 million OTT devices and that its mobile app has had more than 14 million downloads.

Walmart, which profited from the popularity of DVD and Blu-ray in the aughts, has struggled over the last few years to figure out a direction for Vudu. Over the last few years, it pondered the creation of a subscription streaming product, and it moved forward with building out an original content production arm—the remake of the 1980s Michael Keaton movie Mr. Mom was the seminal effort of that initiative.

Comcast, meanwhile, is moving fast into the digital video business, launching new SVOD platform Peacock on X1 and Flex pay TV services last week, and purchasing AVOD platform Xumo in February.

Comcast has moved forward with the purchase of video transactional service Vudu from Walmart.

Terms of the deal weren’t announced.

Officially, Comcast’s Fandango movie-ticket-selling business, operated through NBCUniversal, is making the purchase. Fandango previously competed in the business of renting and selling digital movie and TV shows through its four-year-old FandangoNow brand. FandangoNow was created after Fandango purchased digital movie seller M-Go from Technicolor in 2016. 

In December, Fandango announced that FandangoNow had 60 million monthly visitors checking out its catalog of more than 100,000 film and television titles. 

Vudu was launched back in 2004 and purchased by Walmart in 2010. 

Also read: NBCU in Advanced Talks to Acquire Walmart's Vudu: Report

For now, Fandango said it will maintain a Vudu office in the Sunnyvale, Calif. and keep current Vudu staff in place. On its website, Vudu reassured users that their past purchases will remain safe and accessible,  and existing usernames and passwords will still work. 

Walmart says Vudu is available on 100 million OTT devices and that its mobile app has had more than 14 million downloads.

Walmart, which profited from the popularity of DVD and Blu-ray in the aughts, has struggled over the last few years to figure out a direction for Vudu. Over the last few years, it pondered the creation of a subscription streaming product, and it moved forward with building out an original content production arm—the remake of the 1980s Michael Keaton movie Mr. Mom was the seminal effort of that initiative.  

Comcast, meanwhile, is moving fast into the digital video business, launching new SVOD platform Peacock on X1 and Flex pay TV services last week, and purchasing AVOD platform Xumo in February.

NBCUniversal owned FandangoNow is available on Amazon Fire TVs, according to Variety. 

The streaming service offers more than 100,000 movies and TV shows such as Bombshell, Uncut Gems, and Knives Out. FandangoNow is also available on services such as Roku, Google Chromecast, Android, iOS, LG, Samsung, and Vizio smart TVs as well as others. 

FandangoNow can be streamed on any Fire TV device including the Fire TV stick and the Fire TV Cube. FandangoNow is also available on Facebook Portal and Oculus VR headsets.

Comcast and NBCU-owned Fandango have teamed on an integration that enables X1 subs to find movie times and order tickets to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom using the X1 voice remote.

To initiate the ticket-buying feature, X1 subs can say, “Get tickets” into the voice remote while watching the movie trailer. The system will help the user search from more than 30,000 theatrical screens in the U.S. and find a list of showtimes at nearby theaters. 

X1 subs who view the movie trailer on Comcast’s VOD system will receive an on-screen notification prompting them to use the voice remote or to press the “info” button on the X1 remote to initiative the ticket-buying process. Those subs can also opt to send local show times to their mobile phones to complete the purchase via Fandango’s mobile app or website.

The new film, from Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, is scheduled to open in theaters on June 22.

Comcast and Fandango said it marks the first time this movie ticket-buying capability has been made available on a set-top box, adding that they intend to extend this feature for additional new releases throughout the year.

Tied into the partnership, Comcast has also created a curated area on X1 dedicated to the Jurassic movie series, including access to previous films (for rent or purchase), pre-order tickets to the new film, and watch clips and trailers tied to the franchise. Customers can access it via the X1 menus or by saying, “Jurassic World” into the voice remote.

Comcast acquired Fandango in 2007. Fandango, which also runs an electronic sell-through service called FandangoNOW, is part of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, a unit of NBCU.

“Fandango is the perfect partner to help us give customers a fun, easy way to go right from watching TV at home to enjoying the newest releases in the movie theater,” Nancy Spears, VP, strategy and execution at Comcast Cable, said in a statement. “Xfinity X1 enables us to continually explore one-of-a-kind experiences that complement the TV viewing experience, allowing viewers to interact with content where and when it is convenient for them. We’re launching this experience starting with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in conjunction with the film’s trailer and look forward to further enhancing additional movie titles with this functionality throughout the year.”

“At Fandango, we are always looking for innovative ways to super serve movie fans, when they are engaging with movie content so that they can easily act on their interest and purchase a ticket to the theater on the platforms and devices they use,” added Mark Young, SVP, head of business development and strategy, at Fandango. “We’re thrilled to team up with Xfinity to offer millions of X1 customers across the country a convenient new way to use their TV set and voice-activated remote to buy movie tickets right from their living rooms.”

FandangoNow, Fandango’s digital movie rental and sell-through service, has completed an integration with Movies Anywhere, the Disney-owned service that uses the KeyChest digital rights system.

With the digital tie-in, FandangoNow customers can use the Movies Anywhere platform, including apps and the web site, to access and view movies from studio partners that include Walt Disney Studios (including Disney, Pixar, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm), Sony Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Film, Universal Pictures (including DreamWorks and Illumination Entertainment), and Warner Bros.

Movies Anywhere estimates that its library holds nearly 7,500 digital movies, including the just-released Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Tied to that release, Movies Anywhere has added several profile picture options that, for example, let users pick from the Rebel Alliance Starbird, Stormtrooper or the First Order emblem.

Movies Anywhere supports several platforms, including Amazon Fire devices, Android and Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, Roku and web browsers.

RELATED: M-Go to Become FandangoNOW

FandangoNow joins a growing group of digital retailers that support Movies Anywhere, including Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Apple’s iTunes and Walmart-owned Vudu.

RELATED: NBCU’s Fandango Acquires  M-GO

“We are thrilled to welcome FandangoNOW, a go-to online destination for movie fans, as our newest digital retailer,” Karin Gilford, GM, Movies Anywhere, said in a statement. “Movies Anywhere is rapidly revolutionizing the way that consumers access and enjoy their digital movie collections. The app has been used to store over 100 million movies to date.”

The feds signaled this week they have no issues with the acquisition by Comcast/NBCU's Fandango movie ticket web site of movie review sites Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes from Time Warner's Warner Bros. 

Time Warner gets an equity stake in the deal, which was announced last month.

The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department combine to do Hart Scott Rodino antitrust reviews of deals over approximately $75 million (the exact figure is occasionally adjusted), but grants early termination of that review if they find no reason to block or condition the deal.

The FCC has no involvement in the review since no FCC licenses are involved, so the deal is now free to close.

Fandango, which recently acquired M-Go and, off that purchase, will launch a transactional VOD service called FandangoNOW later this month, continues to be a subsidiary of NBCU.

-Multichannel News technology editor Jeff  Baumgartner contributed to this story

Fandango, the movie ticket buying service that’s part of NBCUniversal, dipped into the M&A poll again and, this time, pulled out Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes.

Flixster operates a web site and mobile app for discovering movies, and claims to have more than 50 million app installs. Rotten Tomatoes, a service that collects and aggregates audience and critic ratings and reviews for movies and TV shows, will be extending its ticketing capabilities to the Flixster app in the coming months. Notably, NBCU corporate cousin Comcast has integrated Rotten Tomatoes rankings with its X1 platform.

Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes, which reach 20 million unique visitors per month, will remain consumer-facing brands, Fandango said.

Fandango, which is acquiring those properties from Warner Bros. Entertainment, announced the deals less than a month after locking up M-GO, the movie and TV electronic sell-through/rental multiscreen service that was a J.V. of Technicolor and DreamWorks Animation. Fandango said M-GO will be rebranded later this year and become part of Fandango’s digital network.

As a result of the deals for Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes, Warner Bros Entertainment will take a minority equity stake in Fandango and become a strategic partner.

Fandango, which will continue to operate as a unit of NBCU, said its recent string of deals will enable it to expand its core theatrical ticketing business and “create the industry’s premier digital network for all things movies.”

“Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes are invaluable resources for movie fans, and we look forward to growing these successful properties, driving more theatrical ticketing and super-serving consumers with all their movie needs,” Fandango president Paul Yanover said in a statement. “Our new expanded network will offer unparalleled capabilities for all of our exhibition, studio and promotional partners to reach a massive entertainment audience with innovative marketing and ticketing solutions that benefit from original content, home entertainment products, ‘super tickets’, gifts with purchase, and other new promotional opportunities.”

“Combining the expertise and assets of Fandango, Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes will create an incredible resource for consumers to fulfill all their moviegoing needs,” added Thomas Gewecke, chief digital officer and EVP, strategy and business development at Warner Bros. “Bringing these properties together into a single, integrated portfolio creates an opportunity to truly accelerate innovation in movie discovery and ticketing, making moviegoing an even more compelling experience.” 

Fandango, the movie ticket buying service that’s part of NBCUniversal, will be expanding into the world of digitally-distributed movies and TV shows after acquiring M-GO, a  joint venture of Technicolor and DreamWorks Animation founded in 2012.

M-GO sells and rents digital titles via a range of connected devices, including Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, Web browsers, Samsung, Vizio and LG smart TVs, on Roku players and Roku TVs, and is optimized for the Google Chromecast.

Fandango said it will use M-GO to create theatrical ticketing and home entertainment bundles, including "movie catch-up" bundles, home entertainment pre-sell opportunities, and bundles with bonus content, and collectibles.

Additionally, FandangoLabs will tap the M-GO platform “in the creation of new moviegoing products and services,” and Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and Technicolor will collaborate on “next-generation video technologies,” including augmented and virtual reality.

NBCU corporate cousin Comcast currently sells and rents movies and TV shows via its own EST service, enabling playback on mobile devices and set-top boxes. M-GO's EST competition also includes Apple iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, and Google Play, among others. 

Fandango said it is acquiring M-GO after a record-breaking year in which it saw 81% growth in ticketing dollars, and added 1,600 screens to its platform, expanding that total beyond 27,000.

"With the addition of M-GO, we'll be able to accelerate the ticketing momentum achieved in a record-breaking 2015 by creating compelling new digital products that serve consumers throughout the movie lifecycle," said Fandango president Paul Yanover, in a statement. "We're excited to start working with our studio and exhibition partners to bundle theatrical tickets and home entertainment products in the form of 'super tickets,' gifts with purchase, and other promotional offers."

Movie ticketer Fandango will team with  Hulu on its first ever subscription video-on-demand channel, the parties said at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Set to begin streaming in the first quarter, the channel will allow Hulu subscribers to view its web series ”Front Runners,” hosted by Fandango’s chief correspondent Dave Karger and featuring such actors as Emma Stone, Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael, movie recommender “Weekend Ticket,” and “Reel Kids,” which gives youngsters a platform to weigh in on flicks.

“We are excited to deliver our original video programming to Hulu subscribers,” said Fandango president Paul Yanover. “Our Hulu partnership helps us extend Fandango video content onto new platforms, meeting a growing demand for premium movie-related content among moviegoers and Hulu fans alike.”

Prior to the partnership, Fandango bought the film content and trailers-focused MovieClips on YouTube.