Subscription-Based Market: Netflix vs. Vudu
The subscription based market consists of a number of players. Some of the prominent competitors to Netflix, besides Blockbuster are: Hulu Plus, Redbox, Amazon Prime, Apple iTunes and Vudu. We will evaluate Vudu to analyze how much of a threat it is to Netflix.
Vudu (owned by Walmart) is emerging as a prominent player in the movie rental business. It is more of an instant streaming service that features on-demand service (video-on-demand). Comparatively, Netflix is a subscription-based provider of video-streaming service as well as DVD-by-mail rental business. One can choose either of the two programs or a bundle including both for a higher membership fee.
Vudu.com was recently (2011) bought by Wal-mart to expand its service based offering in the video-streaming content category. It offers 20,000 titles that can be viewed on multiple devices with Internet access (Computers, TV, Sony's PlayStation3 and other Blu-Ray disc players). The biggest selling point for Vudu is that ‘it claims to offer movies the same day they come out on DVD’. These movies are available to rent for a price ranging from $1 to $5.99 or to purchase for $4.99 onwards. VUDU has a competitive advantage over quality with its HDX and Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 surround sound.
With the recent price hike at Netflix for both streaming and DVD by mail rentals, millions of users have unsubscribed or switched to competitor services resulting to huge losses. In contrast, VUDU does not have a subscription fee and charges per-movie which can be controlled by the user.
Comparatively, Netflix has a number of advantages over Vudu. Some of them being: * The feature of creating a queue / wish list which is used to send consumers movies avoiding the delay in shipping (DVD by mail program) * On registration, the preference sheet helps the company recommend movies that the consumer would like (personalized experience) * It also offers the option of freezing an account for periodic intervals of
Vudu (owned by Walmart) is emerging as a prominent player in the movie rental business. It is more of an instant streaming service that features on-demand service (video-on-demand). Comparatively, Netflix is a subscription-based provider of video-streaming service as well as DVD-by-mail rental business. One can choose either of the two programs or a bundle including both for a higher membership fee.
Vudu.com was recently (2011) bought by Wal-mart to expand its service based offering in the video-streaming content category. It offers 20,000 titles that can be viewed on multiple devices with Internet access (Computers, TV, Sony's PlayStation3 and other Blu-Ray disc players). The biggest selling point for Vudu is that ‘it claims to offer movies the same day they come out on DVD’. These movies are available to rent for a price ranging from $1 to $5.99 or to purchase for $4.99 onwards. VUDU has a competitive advantage over quality with its HDX and Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 surround sound.
With the recent price hike at Netflix for both streaming and DVD by mail rentals, millions of users have unsubscribed or switched to competitor services resulting to huge losses. In contrast, VUDU does not have a subscription fee and charges per-movie which can be controlled by the user.
Comparatively, Netflix has a number of advantages over Vudu. Some of them being: * The feature of creating a queue / wish list which is used to send consumers movies avoiding the delay in shipping (DVD by mail program) * On registration, the preference sheet helps the company recommend movies that the consumer would like (personalized experience) * It also offers the option of freezing an account for periodic intervals of