Fandango has agreed to acquire video streaming service Vudu. Walmart previously owned Vudu. The sum paid by Fandango to Walmart for the purchase of Vudu is still undisclosed now. Fandango is a movie ticketing company based in California. Moreover, one of the company’s subsidiaries is the popular movie review aggregation platform Rotten Tomatoes.
What is Vudu?
Vudu has a user base of more than 100 million people in the United States. The streaming platform is accessible on smart televisions, mobile phones, gaming consoles, personal computers, and tablets. The Vudu mobile application has nearly 15 million downloads, indicating its popularity. However, even after the sale of Vudu by Walmart, it will still be providing content for Walmart’s digital movie and TV store. The acquisition of Vudu by Fandango is expected to finalize in the coming months, according to company officials.
Walmart had been looking for buyers for Vudu
Walmart was on the look for buyers for Vudu, according to many reports. One of the reasons behind this is the growth of other streaming services. Netflix, HBO, and Prime Video have provided extremely tough competition for Walmart’s online movie purchase service. New players have also entered the market in the form of Apple TV+ and Disney+. Walmart originally had plans for Vudu to replicate the success of Amazon Prime Video. However, these plans did not materialize.
Fandango’s plans for its new purchase
Fandango has its streaming service too by the name of Fandango Now. Nevertheless, the company has stated that it has no plans to shut Vudu down. The application would still be available, and existing users will continue to enjoy access to the service. The recent coronavirus pandemic has severely hit Fandango’s movie ticketing operations. This could be one of the critical reasons behind Fandango purchasing Vudu and expanding its streaming service platform.
Source: Vudu, Tech Crunch
