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Wal-Mart Scraps Online Movie Service  

Posted Dec 28, 07 8:14 AM CST in Business,  Technology    Most Covered

(newser) – Wal-Mart shuttered its 10-month-old video download service without fanfare last week, ending a disappointing experiment for the bargain retailer, Reuters reports. The site was scrapped after Hewlett Packard canceled the software that supported it, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman said. HP said it made the move after the market failed to perform "as expected."

Hailed by experts as a “game changer” when it launched in February,  Wal-Mart's download service was limited by a restriction that its movies be played on a single computer. Wal-Mart is not offering refunds for the service and plans no revamp with a new tech partner. The news comes on the heels of reports  that  Fox and Apple will offer the first downloadable flicks for rent on iTunes.

Source Reuters

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Wal-Mart Scraps Online Movie Service
HP's logo is displayed on the entrance to the Hewlett-Packard Headquarters October 5, 2006 in Palo Alto, California.   (Getty Images)
Wal-Mart Scraps Online Movie Service
Early morning shoppers await the opening of a Wal-Mart store, in Panorama City, California, 23 November 2007.   (Getty Images)
Wal-Mart Scraps Online Movie Service
H. Lee Scott, President and CEO of Wal-Mart, speaks during a panel discussion at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York on 26 September 2007.   (Getty Images)
Wal-Mart Scraps Online Movie Service
Music and movies are seen on display at a Wal-Mart in Mountain View, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)   (Associated Press)
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Tags

movie  • Apple  • Wal-Mart  • iTunes  • online videos  • Hewlett Packard  • Twentieth Century Fox


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