The WSJ reports that the big movie studios are enlisting brick and mortar stores like Walmart to help salvage their floundering cloud service. How'd this tragedy unfold?
There can be something kind of endearing about watching Hollywood try and navigate this brave new world of digital media -- a bit like watching your aging grandparent futz with a computer.
Actually, that's not fair. My grandparents can work a computer just fine. I'm sure yours probably manage it too. Hollywood and technology? Not so much.
Case in point: UltraViolet, the new cloud service that the major film studios -- minus Disney -- have created in their attempt to halt falling DVD sales as more and more customers choose to download movies digitally or stream them from services like Netflix. The idea behind UltraViolet is refreshingly sound: consumers should be able to buy one copy of a flick and watch it anywhere, any time, and on any device by accessing it in the cloud. All they have to do is buy a DVD, go online, and type in a digital code to add it to their online library.
In turn, the studios hope that by making watching movies more convenient, it'll convince customers to go back to purchasing movies. Last year, physical DVD sales dropped by 20 percent. Digital sales, which includes streaming, were up by half.