End of movie DVDs? Wal-Mart plans to offer video downloads

In what could be the first major nail in the DVD sales coffin, Wal-Mart has announced that it is going to test a video download service on its website next year. When Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailers and America’s largest seller of movies shifts its focus on movie downloads rather than selling DVDs, it is going to have a significant impact in the DVD industry that has a massive distribution system build around it employing thousands. So far, Wal-Mart has not revealed its partners, but what is known is that major studios are already in talks with the retail giant or have entered into agreements with it. Also, Hewlett-Packard is providing the technology for the download site. Another sign showing the future of movie DVDs are bleak is that the P2P file-sharing provider BitTorrent has entered into distribution deals with eight media companies that includes some famous names like the 20th Century Fox, Paramount and MTV Networks. It is ironic that BitTorrent online file sharing caused billions of dollars in losses for the studios owing to illegal sharing of movies and videos by users.