NBCUniversal already has big things in the works with its upcoming streaming service Peacock. But, those streaming ambitions may be growing as NBCUniversal reportedly sizes up Walmart’s free streaming service and movie rental site Vudu for purchase.
Image via Vudu
On Friday, Variety reported (via the Wall Street Journal) on NBCUniversal’s possible new acquisition. We know via sources speaking to Variety that NBCUniversal is currently in talks to buy Vudu. It’s still uknown what the terms of the purchase would be or when the purchase would go into effect. It’s believed NBCUniversal would scoop up Vudu and merge it with Fandango Now, the online video transaction site that is part of the Fandango ticket service as well as another part of the NBCUniversal portfolio. Even if a merging of these two platforms did occur, it’s similarly unclear if NBCUniversal would ever consider integrating the Vudu-Fandango Now hybrid into the Peacock streaming service or keep them as separate entities. NBCUniversal did not provide a comment on this prospective purchase. As for Walmart, a rep for the company spoke on behalf of the corporation:
“I can share that we’ve built Vudu into an incredibly strong business, with an installed base of more than 100 million devices across America. We’re constantly having conversations with partners but we don’t share details of those discussions.”
Walmart has been shopping around Vudu for purchase since the fall, per a report from The Information back in October 2019. Walmart acquired the movie rental and streaming platform back in 2010 for around $100 million. Under Walmart’s ownership, Vudu expanded and added a free, ad-supported streaming library to its services in 2016. The platform currently offers over 10,000 titles for free to subscribers as well as approximately 150,000 titles to rent or buy, including new releases, in 4K Ultra HD.
For more on what’s happening in the world of NBCUniversal and Peacock, check out everything we know about the streamer including release date and pricing.
