CES: Why Is Vudu Adding 3D Movies? Guess. By Phillip Swann TVPredictions.com
http://www.tvpredictions.com/vudu010711.htm Washington, D.C. (January 7, 2011) -- Vudu, the movie streaming service, has its hands full trying to compete with other online services such as Netflix, Amazon and CinemaNow, However, Vudu announced this week at the Consumer Electronics Show that it will add 3D movies to its impressive library of HD and SD films. The 3D titles will be added next week. The announcement caught some by surprise, considering that only about one million U.S. homes actually now own 3D sets. It would seem that Vudu would be smart to concentrate on providing HD and SD titles to effectively compete with its rivals, which, by the way, have not added 3D to their lineups. However, Vudu has a reason now to offer 3D when companies such as Netflix do not. That reason? Wal-Mart, the discount retailer, purchased Vudu last February. And while it has not been widely publicized, Wal-Mart plans to start selling 3D sets in its stores this fall. The company initially planned to start selling 3D HDTVs in 2010, but it delayed the launch until 2011. So Vudu's decision to rent 3D titles now has to be viewed in the light that its owner, Wal-Mart, will benefit from that move. The more Vudu viewers who become acquainted with 3D, the better the chances that Wal-Mart will be able to sell 3D sets this fall. When Wal-Mart announced that it was buying Vudu, it signaled that the movie service could be used to help in-store sales. And now we're seeing evidence of that strategy in play. -- ======================================== George Antunes, Political Science Dept University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204 Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927 Mail: antunes at uh dot edu _______________________________________________ Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
