Fandango To Buy Vudu Video Streaming Service From Walmart

Fandango Media LLC, the California-based company that sells movie tickets online, has agreed to buy the on-demand video streaming service Vudu Inc. from Walmart. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, TheStreet reported.

Vudu, which was acquired by Walmart in 2010 for $100 million, distributes movies and TV shows to internet-enabled devices. 

“We will continue to invest in areas where we have the greatest strength and are in the best position to serve our customers today and in the future,” a Walmart spokesperson told TheStreet. “Pickup and delivery are great examples of how we’ve invested to bring digital and physical capabilities together to better serve our customers by offering more choice and convenience.”

Vudu provides video service streaming into more than 100 million homes in the U.S., through smart TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles and other streaming devices. The company said the Vudu app has been installed more than 14.5 million times on mobile phones. 

The report said that under the terms of the deal, Vudu customers will have continued access to their TV and movie libraries. They can also keep their Walmart logins. Vudu will continue to power Walmart’s digital movie and TV store on Walmart.com.

According to the report, the service has become more essential in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has shut down theaters, significantly impacting Fandango’s digital ticketing operations.

Fandango said the acquisition of Vudu will allow it to scale that side of its business. It also plans to make offers to the majority of the Vudu team when the deal closes.

“For us, it’s a combination of scale for our on-demand streaming service and the addition of Vudu talent,” a Fandango spokesperson told a news outlet. “Vudu has a strong brand presence and customer base. So right now, we’re focusing on making sure that during this transition, Vudu customers are taken care of and likewise on the FandangoNOW side. Both businesses will exist for the time being.”