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Walmart's rumored streaming service isn't going to happen, says report

The retail giant will focus on its Vudu division instead, says CNBC.

Marrian Zhou Staff Reporter
Marrian Zhou is a Beijing-born Californian living in New York City. She joined CNET as a staff reporter upon graduation from Columbia Journalism School. When Marrian is not reporting, she is probably binge watching, playing saxophone or eating hot pot.
Marrian Zhou
2 min read
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Vudu

Walmart is walking away from plans to develop its own streaming service, according to a Friday report from CNBC. The retail giant reportedly decided not to pursue the service after talks with media expert Mark Greenberg fell apart last year.

Despite the news, a person familiar with the situation said Walmart never had any plans to launch its own streaming service. That information comes amid other reports that the retailer was exploring its own video service. The Wall Street Journal in July said Walmart's streaming service plan was in early stages and that the company talked to Greenberg about it. 

Speculation about Walmart's streaming future comes as several big players, including Disney, AT&T, Apple, and NBC, are expected to launch their own streaming services to compete with Netflix and Amazon Prime Videos. In July, Variety reported that Walmart planned to launch its independent streaming service through Vudu, a video subscription service Walmart bought in 2010. 

Walmart will focus on further developing Vudu, a platform where customers can buy and rent digital movies and shows.

"Vudu is an important platform for us, and we continue to invest in it," Tara Raddohl-House, a Walmart spokesperson, said in an emailed statement. "We are always looking at new ways to serve customers, but have nothing to announce related to video streaming service."

First published Jan. 18, 10:25 a.m. PT.
Update, 1:10 p.m.: Adds statement from Walmart spokesperson and more info on reported service. 

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