Wal-Mart Tests Video Downloads

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores said yesterday it is testing a new video download service. The service, powered by new technology from HP Video Merchant Services, Palo Alto, Calif., includes more than 3,000 movie and TV titles. Wal-Mart is the first major retailer to offer a video download service with the support of all major Hollywood studios, the retailer said. New movie releases are available for video download on the day of the DVD release and range from $12.88 to $19.88, with catalog titles starting at only $7.50 and TV shows at $1.96 per episode. "With thousands of movie and TV titles now available for download, coupled with the strength of our successful physical DVD business, this is an unprecedented offering of video content, features and capabilities currently unmatched in the market. Also, we're excited to launch a service that has the support of all the major Hollywood studios," said Kevin Swint, Wal-Mart's divisional merchandise manager for digital media.