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Streaming VOD providers are getting fewer and fewer (1 Viewer)

Todd Erwin

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The competition of Streaming VOD providers is getting interesting. While some have closed shop (RedBox, Target Ticket), others have been acquired and/or merged.

Fandango recently acquired both M-Go and Flixster (as part of their acquisition of Rotten Tomatoes), rebranding M-Go as FandangoNow, and announcing that Flixster's movie streaming service will eventually be shuttered later this year.

CinemaNow has changed hands, yet again (their third in two years), having been acquired by FilmOn, and it seems in the process lost all of their licenses with Disney (try searching any Disney title on the service and you'll get a blank page), and quite a few UltraViolet titles as well. This is likely stemming from lawsuits many of the studios and networks have filed against the parent company regarding their OTT service for local broadcast channels. The service has also gotten much worse (if that was even possible) by eliminating chat and phone support, and the only way to contact them now is by email.

It is rumored that RedBox is considering trying another go at a VOD service, but we shall see. The only companies that have shown any success in this market have been VUDU, Apple's iTunes, and Amazon Instant Video.
 

Josh Steinberg

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I'm not sure if this is a bad thing. The studios seem to keep the prices the same regardless of which service you use anyway. Too much fragmentation of the market isn't a good thing, and if there are 4 million different stores, that's 4 million different apps to be written for who knows how many different kind of devices - which ends with only select devices only being able to play from select stores, because who wants to be responsible for making a device compatible with that many options.

On one hand, there's always a concern that not enough completion leads to no new innovation, but on the other hand, how many retailers can survive in any industry where they're all offering the same product at the same price?
 

Cranston37+

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The competition of Streaming VOD providers is getting interesting. While some have closed shop (RedBox, Target Ticket), others have been acquired and/or merged.

From just a business point of view, mergers and acquisitions are a notorious sign of a healthy, growing environment. It's one of the first things economists look for to determine the health of an industry.

The only companies that have shown any success in this market have been VUDU, Apple's iTunes, and Amazon Instant Video.

Your list of retailers left off some pretty major companies like Google Play... PlayStation... Xbox... Verizon Fios...

Add those to the already mentioned iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, and FandangoNow and I say there is plenty of choice and competition - it certainly doesn't paint an accurate picture to say the list is getting fewer and fewer...
 
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satam55

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The only companies that have shown any success in this market have been VUDU, Apple's iTunes, and Amazon Instant Video.

Your list of retailers left off some pretty major companies like Google Play... PlayStation... Xbox... Verizon Fios...

Add those to the already mentioned iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, and FandangoNow and I say there is plenty of choice and competition - it certainly doesn't paint an accurate picture to say the list is getting fewer and fewer...

No the OP is right. Playstation Video & Xbox Video are completely propped up by being part of the main storefronts on PlayStation & Xbox consoles. No one is using those services on their mobile devices or on PC. Not to mention those 2 services aren't available on other streaming devices (Rokus, Amazon Fire TV/Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, Smart TVs/Blu-ray players, & etc) like Amazon Video & Vudu are.

Other than being UV compatible, How is Verizon FIOS any different than On-demand/PPV service of other Cable/satellite providers?


As far as Google Play Movies & TV. Just from buying UV/iTunes codes from various sites, forums, Google + & Facebook groups the last couple years, it's no one cares about Google Play movies & TV. It's defintely propped up by being part of the main storefront on Android.
 

revgen

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VOD services are growing, but they seem to moving towards specialization.

Vinegar Syndrome has it's Exploitation.tv service.
TCM and Criterion are starting their Filmstruck VOD service for art house films.
And of course, Warner Archive Instant for WAC titles.
 

Bob Cashill

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WAI has been pretty sleepy lately. I can see this being folded into Filmstruck.
 

Joshua Clinard

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The sale of MGO to Fandango only increases it's user base. More people know about FandangoNow than ever knew about MGO.

According to 3 different Flixster Customer Support Reps, they are not shuttering their service. It is owned by Warner Bros, and was not part of the sale to fandango. Their is no reason to shut it down, and it's the only UV service to serve Austria, Switzerland, and the BeNeLux region.
 

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