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Wal-Mart Scraps Online Movie Service

Move comes as HP nixes software that supported the site

By Jim O'Neill,  Newser User

Posted Dec 28, 2007 8:14 AM CST
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(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.

HP's logo is displayed on the entrance to the Hewlett-Packard Headquarters October 5, 2006 in Palo Alto, California.
HP's logo is displayed on the entrance to the Hewlett-Packard Headquarters October 5, 2006 in Palo Alto, California.   (Getty Images)
Music and movies are seen on display at a Wal-Mart in Mountain View, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
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)
Early morning shoppers await the opening of a Wal-Mart store, in Panorama City, California, 23 November 2007.
Early morning shoppers await the opening of a Wal-Mart store, in Panorama City, California, 23 November 2007.   (Getty Images)
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.
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)
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Apple iTunes goes to the movies
Associated Press

Wal-Mart nixed service? No one even noticed
Gizmodo

 
iTunes • Apple • online videos • Twentieth Century Fox • Walmart • movies • Hewlett-Packard

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