What would Wal-Mart be if they weren’t selling digital video downloads? Well, just a large retail chain that didn’t sell any digital downloads I guess. In recent news, Wal-Mart has forked over some money to buy the digital video downloading service, Vudu. The online on-demand movie service is going to put Wal-Mart right up against Netflix in a battle for the digital download market.
Can Wal-Mart suceed at this?
Well, if they are good at offering prices that are pennies less than a competitor now, why wouldn’t they be able to offer digital movies for less? The difference between Vudu and Netflix is that Vudu is actually built into some TV models like LG and Mitsubishi, making the use of the service even that much easier.
On the other hand, Netflix has been added to xBox 360 recently and the download libraries are virtually the same coming in at about 16,000 downloaded about movies. Basically, Wal-Mart is set up to challenge the likes of Amazon.com and Apple’s iTunes store. I really think that Wal-Mart has a chance, but customer service might be the downfall here. Even though Netflix has over 12 million subscribers (and counting) they provide a premium service even if you do not use their digital download service.
The fact that digital download libraries are growing very fast might keep Wal-Mart at bay for now, but I think that once movies studios see the income potential of getting their movies to the masses faster, the studios won’t be so reluctant to offer more movies for digital streaming.
