Josh Hendrickson
NBCUniversal’s Fandango, the service known for movie-ticket sales, has agreed to buy Vudu, the video streaming service, from Walmart. According to an FAQ Vudu posted, the Vudu service won’t go away, and you’ll still be able to log in and see your movies and TV shows as usual.
Fandango already has a streaming service, dubbed FandangoNow, so it’s surprising to see the Vudu service will continue to exist on its own. But the services aren’t identical, and for many, the frequent bundle deals Vudu offers is the main attraction.
FandangoNow focuses more on direct-to-video movies, while Vudu offers up the latest movies and TV shows as soon as they hit digital. Both participate in Movies Anywhere, and accounts will remain separate for now. According to TechCrunch, Vudu will continue to power Walmart’s digital and movie store on the company’s website.
In an email Vudu sent to users, the company stated the following:
…nothing about the Vudu experience is changing – your movie & TV library is safe, and you will continue to have access to all your Vudu apps across your favorite devices.
Neither Fandango or Vudu disclosed terms of the sale, but rumors that Walmart was looking to sell Vudu have been swirling for months. Now it seems it found a buyer in NBCUniversal.
For now, though, it seems like everything will continue to work as it always has for users. We’ll let you know if and when that plan changes.
