Vudu cuts download rental prices in promotion

99 titles available for 99¢

By Jennifer Netherby -- Video Business, 8/13/2008

AUG. 13 | A day after news broke that two of its competitors had dropped out of the business, online video-rental service Vudu announced that it is slashing the price on 99 standard-definition rentals to 99¢ for the summer.

Vudu will drop the price on I Am Legend, Sweeney Todd and other rentals immediately, and each week, the service will introduce 25 new titles to the promotion, dropping others.

At the same time, subscribers will be able to renew standard-definition rentals for one full week for 99¢ and high-definition rentals for $1.99.

The move comes as competitors struggle to gain users. Starz’s Vongo service shuttered its service Friday, and Morgan Freeman’s movie-download service ClickStar closed earlier this year.

Unlike those services, which offered downloads through a computer, Vudu subscribers download movies to the Vudu set-top box, which connects to the TV.

Vudu said the soft economy led to the price drops.

“In this age of $4 a gallon gas and ‘staycations,’ we felt that Vudu viewers deserved a break and should be able to watch great films for just 99¢,” VP of marketing Patrick Cosson said in a statement. “These initiatives are groundbreaking.  Our 99¢ rental renewal is a first in our industry and will make it easier for our viewers to finish watching a great movie when it fits their schedule, not ours.”