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Vudu creates bargain channel: 99 movies for 99 cents

Company cuts the rental price on a select list of on-demand movies, giving it another distinguishing feature over its rivals.

John Falcone Senior Editorial Director, Shopping
John P. Falcone is the senior director of commerce content at CNET, where he coordinates coverage of the site's buying recommendations alongside the CNET Advice team (where he previously headed the consumer electronics reviews section). He's been a CNET editor since 2003.
Expertise Over 20 years experience in electronics and gadget reviews and analysis, and consumer shopping advice Credentials
  • Self-taught tinkerer, informal IT and gadget consultant to friends and family (with several self-built gaming PCs under his belt)
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John Falcone
2 min read

Vudu screenshot
The 99-cent offerings include a good assortment of worthwhile movies--including some recent hits. Vudu

One of the biggest beefs with the Internet video-on-demand services offered on the Apple TV, Vudu, TiVo (via Amazon Unbox), and Xbox 360 is that the movies are just too expensive--usually around $4 for new movies, $5 to $6 for HD films, and a bit less for older "catalog" releases.

Watch just five or six movies a month, and you can easily rack up a $30 charge--not very appealing compared with Netflix's all-you-can-eat pricing plans.

But Vudu took a step in the right direction Wednesday with its new "99 for 99 cents" section, which will offer a rotating list of films for just under a buck. Even better, the initial list--already available on Vudu's Web site--isn't crammed full of the usual sort of dreck you see on such virtual bargain tables.

In addition to some older favorites (Animal House, Groundhog Day, Austin Powers, Chinatown, The Big Lebowski, and many of the Star Trek and Jack Ryan movies), you'll also find recent hits such as I Am Legend and Cloverfield. Not bad at all--though it's worth noting that all of these are in standard-def, not HD. Vudu's also extending its recent "renewal" policy, which lets people rewatch movies they've already purchased in the past seven days (99 cents for standard-def reruns, $1.99 for HD).

Remember that nearly all of the pricing and viewing limitations--such as the fact that rentals must be watched within 30 days of downloading, and within 24 hours of first clicking "play"--are imposed by the Hollywood studios that own the films (rather than the hardware makers). To that end, it'll be interesting to see whether Vudu's rivals begin offering a similar discount tier. In the meantime, though, Vudu's got a another distinguishing feature over its competition.