Wal-Mart Shuts Down Online Movie Download Service
BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. here has closed an online movie download service it launched less than a year ago.
The move follows the company's 2005 decision to abandon efforts to build an online DVD rental service. The retailer chose instead to turn its rental service over to Netflix, Inc.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Amy Collella said in a statement the company closed the store after Hewlett-Packard Co., which provided the software running the site, "made a business decision to discontinue its video download-only merchant store service."
Wal-Mart, which reportedly accounts for about 40 percent of all DVD sales, still operates a music download service and continues to sell CDs and DVDs at retail stores and over the Internet for shipping by mail.
The move follows the company's 2005 decision to abandon efforts to build an online DVD rental service. The retailer chose instead to turn its rental service over to Netflix, Inc.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Amy Collella said in a statement the company closed the store after Hewlett-Packard Co., which provided the software running the site, "made a business decision to discontinue its video download-only merchant store service."
Wal-Mart, which reportedly accounts for about 40 percent of all DVD sales, still operates a music download service and continues to sell CDs and DVDs at retail stores and over the Internet for shipping by mail.