NEW YORK (AP) ? THE NEWS: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Tuesday started a service streaming many movies the day they come out on DVD, a second bid for some of movie rental and streaming website Netflix Inc.’s business.
TIMING: The world’s largest retailer’s announcement comes two weeks after Netflix said it will raise rates for its subscription-based services and charge separately for streaming movies and rental DVDs.
BACKGROUND: Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Ark., bought video-streaming service Vudu.com 18 months ago. It previously rented DVDs by mail for $12.97 per month for two titles at a time, but it ended the service in February 2010.
