In the latest realignment of the fast-developing ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) business, NBCUniversal’s online film ticketing and information service Fandango has agreed to acquire Vudu, the US streaming service bought a decade ago by retail giant Walmart.

The acquisition, for an undisclosed price, comes a week after NBCU gave its own new AVOD service, Peacock, a soft launch in the US to users of parent Comcast’s Xfinity X1 and Flex devices.

According the Vudu website there will be “no immediate changes” to how it or Fandango operates, though over the coming months the companies “will explore ways to bring great online entertainment experiences to our valued customers.”

An NBCU buy of Vudu was rumoured earlier this year and Walmart, which acquired Vudu in 2010 for $100m, has reportedly been contemplating a sale since last year. The service lets consumers buy and stream individual films and TV shows without paying a subscription and also offers an ad-supported service making around 10,000 titles available for free.

Fandango, launched in 2000, sells US cinema tickets through its web site and mobile app and operates the MovieTickets.com and Flixster in the US, Ingresso in Brazil, Fandango Latin America and the Rotten Tomatoes and Movieclips sites.

In the US, it has the FandangoNOW video on demand service offering new release and library movies and TV shows for more than 200m devices.

The Vudu deal comes two months are Comcast acquired Xumo, a California-based ad-supported streaming service, for an undisclosed price.

One month ago, Fox Corporation has announced plans to acquire AVOD service Tubi for $440 in cash.

 

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