Wal-Mart Moves Into Video Downloading
Wal-Mart has entered the video download business, joining the likes of Apple, Amazon and Netflix.
The product, in beta, allows consumers to choose from more than 3,000 movie and television titles and download them to personal computers usually at a cost less than that of iTunes, the Apple Inc. online store that began selling video downloads more than a year ago.
Wal-Mart would really wow audiences if it offered what it’s known for: lower prices, giving customers a good reason to try downloads.
The movie download business got even more competitive on Tuesday February 6, 2007 when Amazon.com said its service, Unbox, has teamed with TiVo Inc. so that downloaded movies can be viewed on TV screens.
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Internet video download business is expected to be worth $3.7 billion in annual revenue in 2010, when DVD rentals and sales as a business will amount to about $29.5 billion.
While Amazon.com launched Unbox without movies from the Walt Disney Company and iTunes offers only movies from Disney and Paramount, Wal-Mart boasts:
They also offers TV shows from Fox, Fox Reality, 20th Century Fox Television Classics, Comedy Central, VH1, MTV, Nickelodeon, the CW, Warner Bros. and more. Wal-Mart initially will not offer shows from ABC, CBS or NBC.
Wal-Mart is selling TV episodes for $1.96 and movies, depending on how new they are, at price points ranging from $7.50 to $19.88.
Looking at the licensing agreements that Wal-Mart currently has in place, it looks like they could dominate the internet video download market.
Only time will tell.
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Comments / What do you think?
February 11th, 2007
Yes but walmart download site will not work with firefox, It is only usable with IE.
March 14th, 2008
Yes you are right. I have the same problems with safari.