DALLAS, TX--(Marketwire - February 23, 2010) - After abandoning its initial online video plans in late 2007, Walmart has returned to this market with the announced acquisition of VUDU on February 22. With Best Buy working with Roxio CinemaNow, will Walmart leverage the VUDU acquisition to develop its own branded connected CE products?
"Walmart is re-entering the OTT (over-the-top) market at an opportune time," said Kurt Scherf, Vice President, Principal Analyst, Parks Associates. "Parks Associates' consumer research of online video services indicates that usage from paying users for movie rentals, movie downloads, and TV downloads has doubled between 2008 and 2009."
Parks Associates forecasts that revenues for premium video rentals and downloads in the U.S. will grow from $2.3 billion in 2010 to $8.4 billion in 2014.
Given VUDU's recent efforts to transition from a hardware vendor providing set-top boxes to a backend service provider of OTT content for connected CE devices, Parks Associates believes that this acquisition is an opportunity for Walmart to become a "category catalyst" in connected consumer electronics. VUDU currently is working with such CE vendors as LG, Mitsubishi, Samsung, SANYO, Sharp, Toshiba, and VIZIO.
Parks Associates projects that by 2014, more than 40% of transactional revenues for premium online video services will be through connected devices such as connected TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles, and networked digital media set-top boxes. The presence of Walmart, with its retail muscle now in the online video space, could mean significant growth in the number and availability of Web-enabled consumer electronics products.
Parks Associates' current consumer research projects include All Eyes on Video, Digital Media Evolution II, and Consumer Decision Process.
About Parks Associates
Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, primary studies, consumer research, custom research, workshops, executive conferences, and annual service subscriptions.
Each year, Parks Associates hosts executive thought leadership conferences CONNECTIONS™, with support from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA®), and CONNECTIONS™ Europe. In addition, Parks Associates produces the online publication Industry Insights in conjunction with the CONNECTIONS™ Conference series.
http://www.parksassociates.com
Contact Information:
Contact:
Mindi Sue Sternblitz-Rubenstein
Parks Associates
972-490-1113
Email:mindi.sue@parksassociates.com