Walmart partners with MGM to drive Vudu video on demand service

Walmart partners with MGM to drive Vudu video on demand service https://www.eresviral.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Walmart-se-asocia-con-MGM-para-impulsar-el-servicio-de-video-a-pedido-Vudu

Walmart partners with MGM to drive Vudu video on demand service







NEW YORK (Reuters) - Walmart Inc (WMT.N) said on Monday that it will partner with US movie studio Goldwyn Mayer to create content for its Vudu video on demand service, which the retailer bought eight years ago. 

Walmart has been trying to shore up Vudu's monthly audience that remains well below that of competitors like Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) and Hulu LLC, which is controlled by Walt Disney Co (DIS.N), Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) and Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (FOXA.O).  

The media reported that Walmart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, was looking to launch a subscription video service to compete with Netflix and make an incursion into the production of television programs to attract customers. 

But company sources told Reuters that Walmart is not planning such a move and that the company does not intend to spend billions of dollars to produce or acquire exclusive content from now on. However, the retailer continues to look for options to boost its video-on-demand business and offer programs aimed at customers who live outside of the big cities.  

Walmart and MGM will make the announcement at the NewFronts conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday and will announce the name of the first production under the partnership, which Walmart will license from MGM. 

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

The focus will be on the family content preferred by Walmart customers, Rushing said. 









FILE PHOTO: Walmart signage is displayed outside a company store in Chicago, Illinois, USA. UU., November 23, 2016. REUTERS / Kamil Krzaczynski



These programs will have an exclusive license for a period of time for Vudu for North America, and will be available in the free advertising service of Vudu, Movies On Us. Vudu will also commission and license original programs from other sources. 

The first original short format series produced by MGM for Vudu is likely to be released in the first quarter of 2019 at Movies On Us. 

The finanacial terms of the contract were not disclosed. 

Content licensing is a profitable strategy at a time when producing original content has become expensive. As of July, Netflix said it was spending $ 8 billion a year on original and purchased content. Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) the programming budget for Prime Video was more than $ 4 billion, while the US HBO, owned by AT & T Inc (TENNESSEE), said he will spend $ 2.7 billion this year.  

Walmart also plans to launch a new video ad format for Movies On Us, which will allow viewers to make purchases at Walmart.com.  

Walmart acquired Vudu in 2010 to protect itself against declining DVD sales in stores. The customers of the Walmart bet would continue buying and renting films and moving their titles to a digital library, which Vudu would create and maintain for the viewers. 

But the video site has not posed a significant challenge for the rivals that dominate the segment even though it is preloaded or can be downloaded to millions of smart TVs and video game consoles. 

Vudu offers 150,000 titles to buy or rent, while its free advertising service, called Movies On Us, includes 5,000 movies and TV shows. 

Currently, there are more than 200 video services that bypass cable providers and transmit content directly to a television, laptop, phone or game console. That's more than the 68 services five years ago, according to market researcher Parks Associates. 





Report of Nandita Bose in New York; Edited by Peter Cooney





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