The mark of any maturing business is consolidation, and we're starting to see a bit of that in the area of video streaming. 

Movie exhibition chain AMC Entertainment is folding in its three-and-a-half-year-old digital transactional service AMC Theatres On Demand into Vudu, the movie rental and sale platform operated by longtime partner NBCUniversal and its Fandango division. (Fandango acquired Vudu in 2020 for an undisclosed amount, and then shut down its own movie and TV show rental platform, FandangoNow.)

Starting Thursday, AMC Theatres On Demand users can access their libraries through their existing Vudu account, or by establishing Vudu credentials. 

A perk: Eligible titles in their libraries will be upgraded to 4K UHD (or the best possible Vudu display format). AMC refugees will also get 15% off purchases for the first month that they use Vudu.

AMC launched its digital service in October 2019, offering around 20,000 movies for purchase or rent to its base of nearly 20 million "Stubs" loyalty members. 

And the transactional service had its brief moment during the pandemic, especially when Universal Pictures made titles available on the platform 17 days after their premieres in largely evacuated theaters. 

You'd never know it by looking at AMC Entertainment's NYSE price (shares are trading at around $4.50 a unit vs. $13.50 on June 1 of last year), but U.S. moviegoing is starting to recover a bit. AMC's adjusted net loss of $179.7 million in the first quarter of 2023 compared to $266.3 million in Q1 2022. (We'll see if the ongoing WGA strike impacts that in the coming months.)

The theater chain will now get a cut of its digital sales and retnals on a Vudu platform that counts 60 million registered users, and AMC will no longer have to prop up its own platform. 

“AMC Theatres has been a valued exhibition partner of Fandango’s for more than two decades, and we’re thrilled to now offer our Vudu streaming service to AMC Theatres On Demand consumers,” said Cameron Douglas, VP of home entertainment at Fandango, in a statement. 

Vudu, the streaming service from Comcast's Fandango unit, said that it is available on virtual reality devices from Facebook’s Oculus, effective Tuesday.

Users of Quest 1 and Quest 2 devices will be able to rent or buy 200,000 movies and TV shows, many not available on subscription services, such as Free Guy, available for $5.99. 

Quest 2 users can also access hundreds of 3D releases like The Boss Baby: Family Business, Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World. 

Vudu also offers thousands of free titles.

"We’re excited that Vudu will now serve as the official movie and TV store on Oculus," said Fandango chief commercial officer Kevin Shepela. “Fandango’s mission is to usher fans to the most moving entertainment experiences and we’re certainly able to deliver that promise with the new Vudu app on Oculus. We’re thrilled to be working with Oculus to help transport fans to new worlds in the most immersive formats available.”

Fandango merged its on-demand streaming services, Vudu and FandangoNow, in August. Comcast acquired Vudu in April 2020.

Vudu is available in more than 75 million connected TV households via smart TVs from Samsung, LG and Vizio and devices from Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Xfinity X1 and Flex, PlayStation, X-Box and TiVo.

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, a Comcast-owned streaming service, will be available via Amazon Fire TV, one of the leading connected TV platforms.

Comcast acquired Vudu last year from Walmart. It is part of NBCUniversal’s Fandango business and has been expanding its distribution. Last week, Vudu was made available to Xfinity X1 and Flex subscribers.

“We want Vudu fans to be able to watch movies and TV shows on all of their favorite devices, and Fire TV has been one of our customers’ most-requested devices for streaming content,” says Kevin Shepela, executive VP and chief commercial officer at Fandango. “With Vudu’s vast library of premium content from new release event movies to favorite films and TV shows, we are excited to deliver to Fire TV users so many new viewing options to watch in their living rooms, many in breathtaking 4K.”

Fandango said that Vudu had double digit growth in new accounts 2020 and that it expects the growth to continue with the addition of the Amazon Fire TV platform.

In 2020 Vudu launched on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and TiVo. Vudu can also be found on streaming platforms from Roku, LG and Sony.

Vudu offers 150,000 movies and TV shows. New offerings include The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run; Minari; The Mauritanian; Pixar’s Soul and recent seasons of The Flash, The Walking Dead and Young Rock.

Amazon Fire TV devices are available for sale on Amazon.com and at select retailers starting at $29.99. 

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.

Vudu, the transactional on-demand streaming service acquired by Comcast’s Fandango unit, will launch on Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S starting Nov. 10.

Viewers will be able to watch more than a thousands 4K movies and TV shows on Vudu, enhanced by the new Xbox’ enhanced dynamic range, fuller colors, and 3D spatial sound with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.

“At Xbox, our goal is to make the transition from playing games and streaming media on Xbox One to Xbox Series X|S as seamless as possible, so that you’re not missing out on the content you love when you jump into the next generation of gaming, said Xbox wire editor in chief Will Tuttle in a blog post.

“With our new consoles, immerse yourself with fuller colors, enhanced dynamic range,  and spatial sound just as the filmmakers and creators intended on Xbox Series X|S with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, which are supported on apps like Netflix, Disney Plus and Vudu,” Tuttle said. “Together, these advanced audiovisual technologies will take your favorite entertainment to new heights through ultravivid picture quality – incredible brightness, contrast, color, and detail – alongside immersive moving audio that will transport you to new worlds.”

Other streaming apps including Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Spotify, YouTube, YouTube TV, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, NBC Peacock, FandangoNow, Twitch, Sky Go, Now TV and Sky Ticket, now available on Xbox One will also be available on the new consoles.

Vudu, acquired from Walmart in July, delivers over 150,000 new release and premium event movies, catalog films and next-day TV shows as soon as they launch on digital, many of which are unavailable on subscription services.

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.

Visit Next TV to read more stories like this one. 

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.

Roku has vehemently denied an anonymously sourced Digiday report that it is meeting with media companies to discuss making original shows. 

“We are not working on originals,” a Roku rep told Next TV in an email exchange this morning. 

To date, the conventional wisdom has been the that advertising-based video-on-demand (AVOD) business models don’t work for expensive original series strategies. 

However, Digiday makes the case that mere talks with the Hollywood studios aren’t out of the question. AVOD competitor Vudu (owned by Walmart) has been working on an originals strategy for several years. And in another anonymously sourced story that was posted in late February, Digiday reported that Amazon’s IMDb TV platform is looking to pay as much as $500,000 per episode to join the original series arms race. 

Roku took in $411.2 million in ad revenue in the fourth quarter, up 49% year over year and beating Wall Street expectations. 

A key generator of that revenue has been AVOD platform the Roku Channel, which features licensed movie content from the major studios, along with carriage of various digital content channels from third-party providers.

As Digiday noted, it’s not getting any easier for a platform to stand out with splashy, expensive original shows, not with Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, Peacock, HBO Max and Quibi all joining the subscription streaming race within the current six-month period. 

Notably, Facebook and YouTube have recently pulled back on ambitious original series plans. 

With Netflix projected by BMO Capital Markets to spend $17.3 billion this year on originals, there’s a go big or go home mentality these days to entering the originals market. 

“If you’re spending under $1 billion on originals, then you’re not really in it,” an unnamed entertainment executive told Digiday.

As streaming continues to grow, media giants Fox and NBCUniversal are reportedly interested in buying some of the earlier over-the-top services.

Fox has expressed interest in ad-supported streaming service Tubi, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

NBCUniversal is in advanced talks to acquire Vudu from Walmart, the WSJ said. Walmart bought Vudu for $100 million. Last year Vudu started streaming original programming, in addition to acquired movies and TV shows

The paper previously reported that NBCU’s parent company Comcast was in exclusive negotiations to acquire Xumo, another ad supported streaming service.

Only of the largest ad-supported streaming services, Pluto TV was acquired last year by Viacom for $340 million and is now one of the fastest-growing parts of what is now ViacomCBS.

With Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime siphoning off viewers, major TV companies have been jumping into streaming. Last year the Walt Disney Co. launched Disney+ and later this year AT&T will launch HBO Max and NBCU will launch Peacock. ViacomCBS is looking to beef up its streaming service CBS All Access.

Acquiring Tubi would cost Fox more than $500 million, according to the paper.

Walmart’s digital video service, Vudu, said it ordered eight episodes of Legacy, a docu-series from Whistle executive produced by recently retired basketball star Dwyane Wade that follows the children of famous athletes.

Legacy will follow Wade’s son Zaire, a Division I high school senior basketball prospect, as well as Vashti Cunningham, an Olympic hopeful in track and field who is the daughter of former NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham, and Evan and Elijah Holyfield, sons former heavyweight boxing champ Evander Holyfield. One of the sons, Evan, is pursuing boxing; the other is going in a different direction.

Other athletes and their offspring will be in the series also.

“I’m proud to executive produce Legacy and bring my son’s unique athletic journey to other aspiring young athletes,” said Dwyane Wade. “I hope this docuseries leaves viewers feeling inspired through showing the hard work and dedication needed to turn your dreams into reality.”

The series will be available exclusively on Vudu this year. Last year, Vudu original programming included Mr. Mom and Adventure Force 5.

“Legacy is a part of Vudu’s commitment to invest in creating premium and compelling original content for families to enjoy together,” said Jeremy Verba, VP and general manager of Vudu. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with Whistle and Dwyane Wade, and bring this motivational series to life.”

Legacy will be directed by Emmy Award winner Jonathan Hock and Mark Ciardiwill serve as an executive producer. This marks the second project Hock and Ciardi signed onto with Whistle.  Legacy was developed by Mike Basone, Whistle’s VP of development, premium originals, and he will also serve as an executive producer on the project.

Creative Artists Agency brokered and packaged the deal on behalf of clients Whistle and Dwyane Wade. Additionally, the marketing and production company Tiny Horse will executive produce.

“We are thrilled to partner with Vudu to create premium content that harbors family values consistent with Whistle’s brand,'' said Dominic Ianno, executive and head of Whistle’s growth and new initiatives group and executive producer on the project. “We have assembled a stellar team to bring these stories to life and provide a source of inspiration for adolescents as they face the daunting task of making decisions that will impact their futures.”

Vudu, Walmart’s video service, is launching two new programs Thursday designed to ensure viewers have a positive experience and get the lowest price on rentals.

Under Vudu’s Rental Price Match program, customers can call Vudu if they rent a video from Vudu or Digital Video by Vudu and subsequently discover a lower price offered by either Amazon or iTunes. 

Vudu will match the lower rental price and give the customer the difference in credit toward a future Vudu rental or purchase.

Customers can also get a “redo” if they decide before going past the 30-minute mark of their rental that they don’t like what they’re watching. Those unhappy viewers will get a credit towards another rental from Vudu or Video by Vudu. Customers are limited to four redo credits a month.

Both of Vudu’s new customer programs aim to further Vudu’s mission to provide their customers with the best possible viewing experience, with unmatched customer service, the company said.

Vudu will also offer weekly rental promotions ranging from discounts to free rentals to encourage consumers to watch more videos from Vudu.

MARINA DEL REY, Calif.— With Walmart’s Vudu platform making ad-supported streaming a priority, Lionsgate says its AVOD revenue has doubled in one year.

While Walmart announced plans two months ago to boost its two-year-old ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) platform, Vudu Movies on Us, with original shows and movies, the chain’s studio partners are already reporting an uptick in business.

Speaking at the Parks Associates’ Future of Video conference, Thomas Hughes, executive VP of worldwide TV & digital distribution for Lionsgate, said that his studio has seen a doubling of AVOD revenue in just the last year. Hughes wouldn’t disclose specific numbers. But Walmart has been the biggest home entertainment sell-through distribution partner for Lionsgate and other studios dating back to the DVD era.

Related: Walmart Partnering with MGM to Boost Vudu with Originals: Report

In recent years, Walmart has built up its Vudu platform as a key online store to rent and buy movies and TV shows digitally. The retail giant is now building the somewhat recently launched AVOD component of Vudu, called Movies on Us, recently partnering with MGM to develop a episodic series based on the 1980s movie Mr. Mom.

So why is Walmart leaning into AVOD?

“Most households don’t have Netflix,” explained Julian Franco, head of AVOD for Vudu, noting that the SVOD giant’s 117 million U.S. subscribers don’t account for even half of American households.

According to Franco, Walmart’s “Watch for Falling Prices” ethos, which inspires cost-conscious Middle American consumers to seek prosperity through lower-priced purchasing, has reached the streaming age. Consumers, he told the Future of Media audience, are simply bombarded with too many subscription streaming services.

“We have 150 million people coming into our stores. And they’ve told us they’ll watch ads in order to save money on video.”

Specifically, Walmart conducted a survey of its customers in coordination with NPD Group several years ago. The findings, that consumers will accept a certain amount of advertising to once again watch video without a subscription cost, seem to conflict with recent conventional wisdom — that TV watchers are done with commercials.

Franco said Movies on Us ads are strategically placed, and do not saturate the programming in the same way commercials do on linear TV.

Launched in 2016, Movies on Us currently offers around 3,125 older movie titles. It also has 262 full seasons of TV shows.

In October, research company eMarketer published a report estimating that U.S. ad spending on digital video will grow about 30% this year to $27.82 billion.

After largely neglecting its digital movie and TV transactional platform, Vudu, since acquiring it 2010, Walmart is trying to make up ground and become a relevant playing in video streaming.

According to reports in AdAge and Bloomberg, Walmart is in discussion with HBO, Showtime, Starz and operators of other OTT platforms, looking at the possibility that Vudu might broker these platforms through Vudu.

Walmart isn’t confirming this. The reports come a week after Walmart announced a deal with MGM to produce original content for Vudu’s ad-supported free-to-consumer sub-platform, Movies On Us, with the first title being a remake of the 1983 MGM film “Mr. Mom.”

Amid that announcement, it was widely reported that Walmart was going to eschew earlier thoughts on entering the subscription video on demand market.

Related: Walmart Partnering with MGM to Boost Vudu with Originals: Report

With Netflix, Amazon and Hulu owning a stranglehold on the SVOD market, and little unclaimed customer share available in markets like North America, Walmart might be wise to hold off on that one.

However, Amazon alone has carved out a niche in brokering ready-made platforms like HBO Now and CBS All Access through its Channels marketplace. Anecdotal buzz about Channels has been solid, and Amazon executives—and their content parters—rave about the performance of the marketplace. Still, Amazon—which claimed around 160 Channels content partners over the spring—hasn’t released much in the way of concrete sales and customer metrics for Channels, creating the impression that there might be plenty of room in the a la carte distribution market for a player like Walmart.

Certainly, as the largest DVD retailer during the heyday of the disc format, Walmart has the relationships it needs with media companies. And it appears to be tapping those. According to AdAge, Vudu has finally begun reporting to Scott McCall, the executive in charge of Walmart’s entertainment business at its Bentonville, Ark. headquarters.

It was all the way back in 2010 that Walmart acquired Vudu, an online destination to rent and buy digital movie and TV shows. Walmart’s last major announcement for Vudu, before the MGM original content deal, was the creation of Movies on Us back in 2016.

LOS ANGELES — After demurring on a plan to compete with Netflix, Amazon and Hulu in the subscription video on demand business, Walmart is making a push into ad-supported streaming with its Vudu transactional OTT platform.

The big-box giant, which has deep roots into the video business dating back to the halcyon days of DVD, when it was the format’s most important retailer, has formed a partnership with MGM to produce — drum roll — original series. The shows will be family-friendly and targeted to Walmart’s key consumer constituency: rural America.

They’ll be available for free streaming on Movies on Us, the ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) portion of the Vudu platform, which was launched in 2016 and currently offers about 3,125 older movie titles. It also has 262 full seasons of TV shows.

First on the production slate will be a remake of Mr. Mom, a series remake of the 1983 John Hughes-penned feature, starring Michael Keaton as a laid off Detroit auto-industry middle manager adjusting to running the show at home as his wife, Teri Garr, brings home the bread as a rising star in the ad biz.

“It’s just the beginning,” Hulu head of advertising VOD Julian Franco said in announcing the series at the Newfronts West conference in Hollywood. “It’s one that we hope will be of many. We have a pipeline of new exclusive content coming.”

MGM’s film library includes franchises such as James Bond, The Hobbit, The Pink Panther and Rocky, just to name a few titles that might be adaptable to the format. The TV library has Fame, Stargate SG-1 and Teen Wolf.

MGM owns the Epix premium network, as well as the MGM HD channel. It also owns a pay TV distributed VOD channel, Impact, focused on action dramas.

With more than 200 OTT platforms currently vying for audience worldwide, Walmart would have been entering into a fairly saturated market with an SVOD play. But AVOD seems be fertile ground for participants with the right niche. EMarketer estimates the U.S. ad spending on digital video will grow about 30% this year to $27.82 billion.

Walmart is set to announce a partnership with MGM to produce original content for the big box store’s Vudu transactional platform, according to Reuters.

The news service said Walmart will make the announcement Wednesday during a presentation at the Newfronts West event in Los Angeles.

The "family-friendly" content will be focused to Walmart’s consumer base—that is, folks not living in major cities. The report didn’t specify what Walmart will be paying for the content. But it did say the shows will reside within Vudu’s Movies on Us sub-platform, the free-to-consumer, advertising video on demand (AVOD) portion of Vudu that includes mostly archival movie titles.

“Under this partnership, MGM will create exclusive content based on their extensive library of iconic IP (intellectual property), and that content will premiere exclusively on the Vudu platform,” Walmart spokesman Justin Rushing told Reuters.

Related: SpotX Gets Programmatic Pole Position at Vudu

Walmart is reportedly shelving a plan to compete with Netflix, Amazon and Hulu in subscription video on demand.

Walmart acquired Vudu in 2010 as a hedge against declining DVD and Blu-ray sales. The platform specializes in sales and rentals of digital movies and TV shows—a competitive market, with Apples iTunes Store, Amazon, Comcast and others in the mix.

Walmart doesn’t break out financials for Vudu. 

WalMart Eyes Netflix Clone

TWIN: According to website The Information, Walmart is plotting to create a streaming video service to rival Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu, targeted at the Midwest and priced at just $8 per month.

MCN Take: Walmart has already has a streaming video service – video on demand platform Vudu, which it bought in 2010 – that hasn’t really caught on with customers. The Information says the idea is still in its infancy and could be shelved yet again – it had toyed with offers a streaming video service in 2017 but abandoned those plans. The retailer also is said to be considering an ad-supported streaming service.

See the full story at The Information.

Netflix Shares Dive After Missing Subscriber Targets

TWIN: Netflix shares fell 13% in after-hours trading July 16 after the company reported U.S. subscriber gains of 670,000 and international customer growth of 4.47 million, well below targets.

MCN Take: Netflix had predicted it would add 1.2 million domestic customers and 5 million international subscribers. The streaming giant blamed the shortfall on over-forecasting rather than a fundamental problem.

See the full story at MarketWatch.

Netflix, Sirius XM Partner on Comedy Channel

TWIN: The satellite radio channel, tentatively called Netflix is a Joke, is expected to debut in January 2019 and marks the first time the streaming giant has pursued an audio-only channel.

MCN Take: Sirius XM said in a blog post that the channel would include material from Netflix’s own stand-up comedy catalog, comedy talk shows and original programming.

See the full story at The Hollywood Reporter.

Research: 30% of Netflix Customers Subscribe to Premium Service

TWIN: Parks Associates said in a recent research report that 30% of Netflix customers subscribe to its premium tier, up from 21% in late 2017 and despite a price increase in October.

MCN Take: At the same time, uptake for its lowest-price basic offering ($7.99 per month) has fallen from 35% to 27%. While the $10.99 per month standard package, which offers 2 streams and HD-quality video, is most popular, Parks said the pricier premium tier ($13.99) per month is gaining steam because it offers more simultaneous streams (4) than the other offerings and is higher quality – Ultra HD compared standard definition for the basic tier.

See the full story at Multichannel News.

Bruce Springsteen’s Broadway Show to Become Netflix Special

TWIN: Fans of The Boss on the Great White Way unable to secure a ticket need merely to wait until Dec. 15, when Springsteen on Broadway makes its debut as a Netflix special.

[embed]https://twitter.com/springsteen/status/1020037842565812224[/embed]

MCN Take: Dec. 15 is the date of the final on-stage performance of “Springsteen on Broadway.” The singer-songwriter invited a private audience for two extra performances last week – July 17 and July 18 – which were recorded for the special. “Springsteen on Broadway” has been running at the Walter Kerr Theater since October.

See the full story at The New York Times.

Ooyala, the Telstra-owned online video publishing and analytics specialist, said its technology is helping to underpin Vudu’s new free, ad-supported video service.

Complemetngn its transactional VOD service, Vudu last week launched Vudu Movies on Us, a service that will pair off in the market with AVOD services such as Tubi TV and Crackle, as well as linear-style, free, ad-based OTT offerings such as Pluto TV.

Vudu Intros Free, Ad-Based OTT Option

Ooyala said it’s the “exclusive technology provider” for Vudu’s new multi-platform offering, which is using Ooyala Pulse, an advertising platform that manages real-time campaigns. With that system, Vudu can monitor if campaigns are on track to reach their goals and impression commitments, Ooyala said.

“Ooyala has quickly become an extension of our day-to-day team and ad operations; helping us connect with the right buyers, ensuring value is added on both sides of the equation, and that the process is seamless as we enter a brand new market,” Scott Blanksteen, Vudu’s VP of product, said in a statement.

“As new ad-supported offerings emerge in streaming TV, publishers are immediately faced with the challenge of building their audiences in an app-based environment that lacks unified search capabilities and a user-friendly means for content discovery,” added Seth Walters, senior partner of connected television at Modi Media, the advanced-TV arm of GroupM.  “Advertisers are faced with significant fragmentation when trying to reach audiences at scale.  Vudu Movies on Us presents an opportunity to place our clients’ messaging within an app that already has an established audience.”

RELATED: Telstra Eyeing IPO for Ooyala: Report

Ooyala’s customers include NBCUniversal, Star India, Sky Sports (U.K.), ITV Studios (U.K.), RTL Group (Germany), M6 (France), TV4 (Sweden), Mediaset (Spain), America Television (Peru), and Media Prima (Malaysia), am among others. 

Taking competitive aim at services such as Tubi TV and Crackle, Vudu, the Walmart-owned OTT, has launched a free, ad-supported offering called Vudu Movies on Us.

Vudu said the new ad-based option features “thousands” of movies and TV shows in 1080p and in Dolby Digital sound (when available). Examples of Vude’s free, ad-supported titles include Mad Max (1980), True Grit (2010), School of Rock, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Star Trek X- Nemesis, Out of Time,Sliding Doors, and The Phantom of the Opera.

Vudu said the new service is its first move into free, HD streaming and follows recent upgrades to its traditional EST service that includes support for titles in 4K/UHD with Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos Audio.

“Millions of customers already buy and rent content on Vudu on a monthly basis. This new service provides value for customers who want to watch movies and TV for free, when and how they wish to watch, without sacrificing quality,” Jeremy Verba, VP and GM of Vudu, said in a statement.

To access Vudu’s new free fare, viewers must login to Vudu via a Web browser, mobile or connected TV device, click on the “New” tab on their desktop or “Spotlight” tab on their mobile or living room device, and then click on the “Movies on Us” option.

Vudu supports a wide range of streaming platforms, including certain smart TVs and Blu-ray players, Roku devices, Chromecast adapters, iOS and Android mobile devices, Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles, PS4 and PS3 consoles, and the new Android TV-powered, 4K-capable Mi Box.

The relationship consumers have with online retailers looms as a major factor in the future of video streaming. As retailers that sell devices increasingly also offer content to watch on them, brand loyalty could become a driver in consumers' streaming platform choices.

That prospect is especially significant in the context of the Comcast-Netflix deal announced July 5, under which the MSO will add the OTT streaming service to its X1 set-top box. When launched, the easy access to Netflix content via the set-top could draw the Comcast-loyal to the OTT service and the Netflix-loyal to Comcast.

Online merchants are already engaged in leveraging consumer loyalty to cross-sell devices and content. Several of the largest -- Amazon, Apple and Walmart -- offer their own streaming platforms and content; Amazon has its Prime Video service as well as the Fire TV platform, Apple has Apple TV and content via iTunes, and Walmart sells an array of devices and offers content via a Vudu-powered electronic sell-through service. But the full impact of consumer loyalty on a merchant and viewers' perception of the hardware/content connection are still in flux, like much else in the shifting retail world.  So is the competitive impact that could have on cable delivery.

Offering some insight into the potential impact is a new list of the top 25 consumer electronics etailers from MCN sister publication TWICE magazine that ranks merchants by 2015 sales revenue for CE products. What jumps out from the list is the performance of top CE sellers that are also cultivating video business.

Amazon leads the list with $23 billion in online CE sales, accounting for nearly half of the total $46.6 billion by all 25 merchants, according to TWICE. Apple came in third (behind Best Buy) with $4.2 billion in online CE sales (or about 33% of its total sales), and Walmart ranked fourth with $3.4 billion in online CE sales (or just 15.2% of its total online sales), up 7.6% from the year before.

Most significantly, all of these merchants have electronic relationships with customers, many of whom are primed to buy video content for their connected TV sets, Internet access devices or other streaming platforms. (Notably, Google, which is not on TWICE's etailer roster, also has a presence in this scenario, thanks to its popular Chromecast receiver, which is sold by many online merchants.)

Now let's look at the important relationship between the etailers and the streaming video industry, and their competitive stance vis-à-vis the cable industry. Not so long ago, cable operators were seeking to establish marketing alliances with some retailers -- including Best Buy, Circuit City (rest in pieces) and Walmart -- in part to stave off retailers' support of satellite TV services. As Netflix rolled through their world, various cable distributors have also experimented with electronic sell-through and other attempts to provide digital content in a connected environment .

As the landscape has changed, and with the growth of streaming video (and cord-cutting), electronics retailers are in a better position to maintain and extend relationships with customers. Online merchants are even a step farther along in that connection, with their access to shopper data.

Of course, when it comes to streaming media, the downside of the relationship is that retailers often only have a one-time financial interaction: at the point of purchase when the customer buys a Roku box or a smart TV or other streaming video device. Those sales typically offer no ongoing revenue stream from subscription services bought through the retailer. BestBuy tried to do that in its alliance with CinemaNow during the last decade; Target tried for several years, then abandoned its "Target Ticket" VOD service last year; the late Radio Shack (may it, too, RIP) also played with it. And dozens of other deals have been scouted around the consumer electronics market over the years.

After the retail shakeout, the handful of major online CE retailers atop the TWICE roster are in a strong position to leverage streaming video connections.  Amazon and Apple are obviously well on their way, and Walmart is big enough to try anything. Even the moribund Sears (which sold $229 million of CE products online last year, albeit a 27% drop from the previous year) still sees some possibilities in video -- it recently started selling house-label TV sets, using the brand extension of its once-popular "Kenmore" name.

The TWICE roster of online CE sales may be seen as an indicator that the marriage of online video device sales and online content distribution still has some competitive strengths.

Walmart is nearing the launch ofhas launched the Spark, an HDMI-connected TV streaming stick that shares some of the basic functionalities found in other devices in the category such as the Google Chromecast, Roku Streaming Stick and Amazon Fire TV Stick. 

As first spotted by GigaOm, Walmart has recently launched a Web site for the new product, though there’s still no info posted there about how Spark will be priced. But to prime the pump, consumers who do snap up the Spark when it does go on sale will be in line for a $5 VUDU credit code each month for five months (for a total of $25)...at least until that promo expires on Sept. 1, 2015.

The site does offer some other details, noting that the product will be offered only at Walmart.com and “select” Walmart stores, that it will support up to 1080p resolution, require a minimum broadband connection of 1 Mbps, and come equipped with integrated 802.11n WiFi. The Spark package also includes and a remote control and a USB-based power cord.

It also appears, at least in the early going, that the Spark will limit access to the VUDU service, which lets customers rent and buy from a library of more than 100,000 movies and TV shows.

We’ve asked VUDU for more detail on what other content sources and apps might be offered down the line, but the user manual only features the VUDU service and walks through how consumer can link the Spark to link their existing VUDU accounts or create new ones. In fact, the VUDU app will automatically launch once it's connected to WiFi, according to the document, which makes no mention of any app or OTT service outside the VUDU universe. 

If that’s the way things stay, then consider the Spark merely a vessel for VUDU and not much of a direct threat to any of the far more capable streaming sticks already on the market. But the $25-worth of VUDU credits is a nice perk that might entice some to jump on board, especially if Walmart decides to practically give the device away. 

Update:  A Walmart official confirmed that the retailer started to sell the VUDU Spark in about 2,400 Walmart stores last month. "It’s priced at $24.95 with $25 worth of VUDU credit, so it’s a low-cost way for our customers to access the latest HD movies and TV on VUDU in their living room," the official added in an emailed statement. 

So, there you go. The five months in VUDU credits offered via the promo cover the bulk of the price of the device. And the base price of the Spark, which does include the remote, undercuts the typical sales price of the Chromecast ($35), Amazon Fire TV Streaming Stick ($39, with remote), and the Roku Streaming Stick ($49.99, also with a remote). Time will tell if Walmart makes the Spark a bit more attractive and less limited by expanding the amount of content and apps it can support. 

Update 2: Blogger Dave Zatz visited Walmart  over the weekend to buy a Spark and found that the in-store promo is a tad different than what the retailer is pitching online...$20 in VUDU credits in four monthly installments of $5. So, not quite as sweet, but the promo still covers the bulk of the hardware costs. And Zatz, who found the Spark with the DVDs and Blu-ray discs rather than next to other streaming players, offers a good history lesson on VUDU...I forgot they got off the ground in 2006 (pre-Walmart) with a dedicated device that sold for a lofty $400.

Jinni said it is powering the discovery engine that is humming behind a new user interface launched by VUDU, the Walmart-owned multiscreen electronic sell-through and rental company.

Jinni’s involvement continues an existing relationship it has with VUDU, as Jinni announced that the Walmart unit agreed to license Jinni's mood-based video-discovery platform back in January 2013.

Jinni’s semantic discovery platform is present on VUDU’s updates across its range of supported devices, including connected TVs, gaming consoles, Web browsers, streaming players, and Blu-ray players. That will help VUDU’s customers discovery content amid a library  that offers more than 100,000 titles to rent or own.

Yosi Glick, Jinni Co-Founder & CEO added, “We are proud to have a customer like VUDU adopt our solution using our full discovery feature set. This is further validation of our semantic approach we have built over the years which has now become the dominant trend by the leading players,” company co-founder and CEO Yosi Glick said, in a statement.

Jinni also has deals in place with AT&T for its U-verse TV service, Comcast (for its X1 platform), Belgium’s Belgacom, Spain’s Prisa, Singapore’s SingTel, and Canada’s Telus, among others.

Jinni competes with other media discovery and recommendation engine suppliers, including Digitalsmiths (now part of TiVo), ThinkAnalytics, and ContentWise.

Of that group, ContentWise, which counts Mediaset, Sky and TIM Brasil as customers, announced Tuesday that sales have jumped 400% in 2014. 

So, make room for yet another HDMI-connected, WiFi-fueled video streaming stick – the VUDU Spark.

Though it’s not clear yet if this will be a direct competitor to streaming sticks from Google, Amazon and Roku by supporting a full apps ecosystem, the new device from the Walmart-owned VUDU was spotted by GigaOm in the FCC database, showing several images of the product as well as a user manual. 

We’ve asked VUDU for details, such as pricing, expected availability and if it will support apps other than VUDU’s, but the FCC materials show it working only with the VUDU electronic sell-through platform, which lets users rent and buy movies and TV shows and stream them to an array of connected devices, including the PlayStation 3/4, the Channel Master DVR+, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, Roku, Chromecast, select Blu-ray players and connected TVs, Web browsers and iOS and Android-based devices, among others. 

GigaOm notes that the device is paired with a remote control powered by Zigbee RF, versus WiFi Direct, meaning “you shouldn’t expect Miracast or any similar type of mirroring functionality either.”

If it’s indeed a device solely tethered to VUDU, at least early on, it makes me wonder if VUDU will simply just give this gadget away along with perks like a free movie to entice more people to jump on board as VUDU continues to face off against a competitive EST market that includes iTunes, Amazon, Google, Sony, Target Ticket, Comcast and Verizon Communications, to name just a few.

Update: VUDU confirmed that work is underway on Spark, but that's about all they're willing to share at this time: "We’re always looking at new ways for our customers to experience the  movies and TV shows in their VUDU library. We’re developing a streaming stick and will share more information in the coming months. Stay tuned," a spokesperson said, in a statement. 

Adding a key content offering to its lineup of apps, Roku has launched Google Play Movies & TV to its Channel Store in the U.S., Ireland and Canada. 

Google Play Movies & TV, also offered on Google’s own TV-connected Chromecast and new Android TV-powered Nexus Player (as well as via apps for Android and iOS tablets and smartphones), offers a mix of new movie releases, some before their DVR and Blu-ray windows, as well as TV shows for purchase and rental.

Google’s service competes with electronic sell-through services such as iTunes, VUDU, Amazon, as well as EST products from Comcast and Verizon Communications. .

Roku said the new offering is available on “current generation” players, meaning those introduced after June 2011 (Roku 3, Roku 2, Roku 1, Roku Streaming Sticks, Roku LT, Roku 2 HD, Roku 2 XD,  Roku 2 XS, and Roku HD). Support for Roku’s platform for connected TVs will be “coming soon.” Roku has shipped more than 10 million devices in the U.S., but hasn’t revealed international sales figures.

Roku, which adds Google Play Movies & TV to a roster of more than 1,600 channels/apps, is also supporting the “Gift from Google” section that’s currently offering a free HD copy of X-Men to users who sign up for  a Google Play account.