Vudu, after coming under the wing of NBCUniversal’s Fandango last year, will be rolling out on Amazon Fire TV Edition smart TVs and Fire TV streaming devices at the end of March.
It’s the latest effort by Fandango to boost the reach of Vudu, after closing the deal to buy the transactional VOD movie and TV service from Walmart in July 2020. Vudu offers more than 150,000 new release and catalog movies and TV shows, along with a large library of content in 4K Ultra HD and a collection of free, ad-supported streaming titles.
Last week, Vudu launched on Comcast’s Xfinity Flex and X1 platforms, and in 2020 launched on Sony’s PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and TiVo. That’s in addition to its existing footprint that includes Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS and Android mobile devices, and LG, Sony and Samsung smart TVs.
Amazon says it had more than 50 million average monthly Fire TV users last year. Customers with Fire TV devices will be able to purchase or rent titles from Vudu on a mobile device or computer and the titles will appear in their Vudu library on Fire TV for playback.
Fandango, which also operates the Fandangonow transactional VOD service, has not disclosed how many users Vudu has but claims the service had double-digit growth in new accounts in 2020.
Fire TV has been one of Vudu customers’ “most-requested devices for streaming content,” Kevin Shepela, Fandango’s chief commercial officer, said in a statement. “With Vudu’s vast library of premium content from new release event movies to favorite films and TV shows, we are excited to deliver to Fire TV users so many new viewing options to watch in their living rooms, many in breathtaking 4K.”
New titles on Vudu this month are “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run,” awards contenders “Minari,” “The Mauritanian” and Pixar’s “Soul,” and recent seasons of TV series “The Flash,” “The Walking Dead” and “Young Rock.”
