Fandango, the once popular online movie ticket marketplace that has become a streaming service, has announced that it will buy Vudu from Walmart. The companies made the announcement Monday and say the deal, though formally concluded, will take some time to take effect. Talk about a special blue light. A Vudu spokesperson said Fandango and NBCUniversal's primary goal for the purchase was to increase the amount of content that will be sold on FandangoNOW, saying the two services would continue to operate as normal in the meantime. Even after the transition, the spokesperson told CNET, customers will still be able to use their Walmart connection and Walmart wallet for Vudu purchases, so don't worry about losing your purchases.
Let's make a Deal
What makes the situation interesting is that NBCUniversal, the company that owns Fandango, already has some streaming services. Obviously, one of them is FandangoNOW, a streaming service specializing in shows straight from the theater. Another is Peacock, NBC's own streaming service that just launched to select Xfinity customers earlier this week. NBC Peacock will have its own original content, as well as NBC shows and movies previously aired by Universal. On top of all that, Vudu, a streaming service that jumped into the early 4K HDR/Dolby Vision movement and was acquired by Walmart in 2010. It has one of the largest digital marketplaces for movies and, when combined with the FandangoNOW catalog, could represent a serious threat to iTunes, Amazon Video and Google Play Movies and TV, the three leaders in the video market. It is not yet known how, exactly, Fandango and NBCUniversal will benefit from this library, but in a competitive arena like streaming video, these services need all the benefits they can get.