Wow. The rumor was true. Wal-mart is indeed acquiring Vudu. Given their prior failed attempt at digital media distribution and MediaMemo’s way-off financing stat, I had a difficult time buying it. But the deal is done – so congrats to the Vudu team. Vudu’s story arc is interesting. From the beginning, and like many, I … Read more
Later today, Wikipedia movie content (and more) joins Rotten Tomatoes coverage on Vudu partner hardware. As a refresher, Vudu began life as a peer-to-peer movie streaming service via their dedicated hardware. After some layoffs, restructuring, and refinancing, they emerged with a hardware diversification strategy and a focus on supplemental web content. Additionally, the P2P streaming … Read more
Right on schedule, the Vudu experience has landed on select broadband-connected LG televisions – making good on the promise to diversify their distribution strategy. Additionally, they’ve inked a deal to bring Vudu on-demand movie streaming, now reworked as a CDN play versus their P2P roots, to select Mitsubishi HDTVs being released later this month. These … Read more
Despite sluggish hardware sales, two rounds of layoffs, and flirting with disaster, a shift in strategy along with a rumored cash infusion has landed Vudu some interesting licensing deals. While Entone (who?) and Vizio were the first to announce Vudu integration, it looks like LG HDTVs will be the first to stream Vudu video on … Read more
I’ve received word that Pandora Internet radio streaming will be launching on Vudu in the very near future. This seems to be confirmed by a published, then yanked, post on CNET. (Also, swiped/syndicated here.) While I’m happy to see Vudu’s still got life and continues to expand box offerings beyond video purchases/rentals (aka Vudu Labs), … Read more
It’s been awhile since we’ve talked Vudu here on ZNF, so it’s time for a 2009 status update. The year started with a second round of layoffs, which came as no surprise given some of the funding chatter that came my way late in 2008. Not surprisingly, Vudu followed this by announcing a renewed focus … Read more
With the introduction of Vudu Labs, owners are enjoying some new functionality this week. Riding the Internet media wave, Vudu ($300) has extended their platform ($300) to provide a variety of freely available web content… in addition to existing movie streaming/download services. Initial offerings include YouTube, Flickr, and numerous video podcasts. Like much of the … Read more
While most of the world is talking about Vudu’s new higher definition HDX content (which I haven’t tested) today, what got my attention is the $200 movie credit being run in conjunction with Best Buy’s nationwide rollout. Purchase a $295 Vudu box via BestBuy.com or a brick & mortar location by the end of the … Read more