Did Walmart Settle The Class Action Lawsuit to Market Vudu to Netflix Customers?

paidContent reports that Walmart might have scored a marketing coup at Netflix's expense. When Walmart decided to shut down their DVD rental service they started marketing Netflix to their customers, a class action lawsuit was filed, accusing Netflix & Walmart of dividing up the DVD market (Netflix would not sell DVDs and Walmart wouldn't rent them). Netflix refused to settle, but Walmart did and will now be able to send 40 million current & ex-Netflix customers a Vudu offer. 

A new court ruling gives Wal-Mart a major boost in its effort to muscle in on Netlix’s streaming subscribers. A federal court in California late last week approved a class-action settlement that requires Wal-Mart to pay out $27.5 million. But here’s the key element of the ruling: Wal-Mart will be allowed to pay the 40 million Netflix subscribers in the form of gift cards for Wal-Mart.com—where there is prominent advertising for Vudu, which rents and sells movies a la carte.

The court ruling is a blow to Netflix, which had earlier blasted the settlement as “the equivalent of a marketing campaign that costs Walmart only 68 cents per potential customer.”

via Inside Redbox.

Comments

[Smy Lee]

What? American courts submitting rulings that favor, even in guilt, major corporations? Say it ain't so~

[Robert Emmerich]

Until Vudu gets a subscription plan (and a name that doesn't make most of middle America think of Louisiana zombies) it is not a competitor to NF. Walmart should spend all of it's marketing $ on PS3 users. I use it all the time for trailers and it's at a competitive price to Sony's video service.

I'm still waiting for a true NF competitor. Hulu Plus needs more content (they really need to add all Hulu content to Plus ASAP), and to drop the commercials, if I want commercials I can watch Crackle for free (also on the PS3.) Amazon Prime needs a queue, an alphabetical listing, and a monthly option. I'm not an Apple fanboi but I'm still waiting for them to announce a subscription plan, maybe with Apple TV V. And I'm still waiting for cable and satellite to announce subscription plans. I know content providers don't want to give stuff away, but people aren't buying 70's, 80's ad 90's films on blu-ray (SW excepted), might as well get something for them. I know my wife is waiting for the John Hughes channel.

[moviegeek]

$27.5 million divided by 40 million is .68 per subscriber, how can I spend spend all that money?(rolls eyes)

[moviegeek]

Besides Vudu doesn't rent DVD/BD or have an all-you-can-eat streaming service.

Netflix should just settle and move on.

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[Dockholidaiy]

I would have rather seen that money go to netflix so they could buy up more content for south Africa.