Wal*Mart Shutters Online VOD Service

By Stephen Silver

Wal*Mart said Thursday that it will shutter its online video download service after less than a year. The reason for the cancellation? HP, the company behind the technology, discontinued it as well, according to Reuters.

The retail giant will continue to offer in-store video-on-demand, but the download service has been discontinued. A message on the service’s Web site now states that “The Wal-Mart Video Downloads Service closed on 12/21/07,” and suggests that users visit a FAQ page to have their questions answered.

The service had launched in February, with the cooperation of every major Hollywood studio and TV network, with the downloads available on the day movies were released on DVD. But the service failed to catch on, as the demand for online downloads of whole movies remains uncertain.

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