Walmart Is Looking To Enhance Vudu With Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Deal

Walmart Inc WMT is apparently eyeing a collaboration with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (a.k.a. MGM) to boost viewership of Vudu, which was acquired in 2010 in response to sluggish DVD sales.

Sources revealed that this omni-channel retailer is planning to team up with movie studio MGM to produce content exclusively for Vudu, which is its video-on-demand service. Per the deal, content created by MGM will be more family-oriented, and will premiere solely on Vudu. Though Walmart acquired Vudu roughly eight years back, the same hasn't been as successful as other subscription-based services like Netflix, Inc. NFLX, Hulu or Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, among others, that offer a wide range of attractive content.

While rumor has it that launching a subscription-based streaming video service is Walmart's agenda, the latter has not confirmed any such news. Instead, the big box retailer is looking for ways to strengthen its video-on-demand business and come up with programs that can increase its viewership count. Partnering with MGM is also one such strategy, as licensing content is likely to be more cost-friendly compared to creating original content.

However, industry experts believe that Walmart still has a lot of work to do to catch up with biggies like Amazon and Netflix, which are making heavy investments in the video-streaming arena. That said, making efforts to counter e-commerce king Amazon is not new for Walmart.

Walmart has always looked forward to introducing smart and digitally compatible shopping tools across stores and online. These include features like pickup kiosks, same-day delivery services and easy payment solutions. Also, Walmart's strategic deal with Microsoft Corporation MSFT is likely to strengthen its digital capabilities through advanced cloud solutions. Moreover, the company has been boosting e-commerce presence through partnerships with Flipkart, Jet.com, Bonobos, ModCloth and many more. Such moves indicate that Walmart has been constantly striving to bolster digital presence and stand up to its bold ambitions to evolve as a leading omnichannel retailer.

Backed by such endeavors, Walmart's U.S. e-commerce sales soared 40 percent in the second quarter of fiscal 2019, much better than a 33 percent rise reported in the first quarter. E-commerce sales improved on the back of enhanced online assortment with 1,100 new renowned brands and increased grocery pickups. These factors keep management encouraged about achieving 40 percent of U.S. e-commerce sales growth in fiscal 2019.

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