Wal-Mart bullying Hollywood over iTS movie downloads?

I do business at Wal-Mart all the time and it never sucks. I get everything at a low price. This is particularly true of DVDs. I can buy movies for less than Gamestop sells them used. Plus, I work there part time (which doesn't pay too poorly at all after awhile), so I get them at 10% less. And if Rubbermaid or Vlasic can't meet the low prices required to sell at Wal-Mart, then they can go elsewhere and sell their products to consumers who want to pay more for the same thing.

Dan,

I guess you also missed the story about WalMart forcing Vlasic to sell a freaking gallon of pickles for less than $3, which pretty much screwed up Vlasic. Go read about it. WalMart does indeed suck if you have to do business with them.

http://www.fastcompany.com/online/77/walmart.html

Why are they worrying about competition from iTS? The hicks that shop at WalMart certainly aren't smart enough to work a computer, much less download a movie and then figure out how to watch it. And if they do somehow figure out how to do it, they'll be constantly interrupted by all the viral activity and security updates going on in their $73 crappy PC they bought from WalMart.

Remember back when The Wherehouse (it was a retailer that used to sell music CDs, a disc that contained music stored in digital form) started selling used CDs. And rememebr how the CD industry retaliated by raising prices. And remember how they got in big trouble with the Feds for this? Course, that was back during the era of the U.S. two-party system, so who knows that would happen now.

So, Walmart would not sell Disney to spite Apple? Let's see 'em explain that loss of revenue to the shareholders ... I sure that they want to set up their own download site too, but that playing field will be level or tilted against their favor so they'll only lose. Excuse me .... can't type .... my eyes are tearing up ....

@Dan,

I guess you missed the PBS Frontline special on Wal-Mart...They're NOT like any other company. They're bullies that force companies to do what they (Wal-Mart) wants. They've strong-armed companies many times (just ask Rubbermaid) and they stop at nothing to get what they want. Ruthless.

The Wal-Mart bashing is so tiresome. Wal-Mart is just like Apple or any other company. They have to meet the market where it is. They can forestall changes, but they can't stop them. NOTHING they do will prevent digital distribution. They might be able to slow it down for a few months, but when movie studios see how much money Disney is making with ITs, with virtually no cost overhead, they'll come around, just like the TV guys did.

I don't dislike Wal-Mart, but I believed they have reached the apex of their influence in the US, and they will be superceded by nimbler, smarter players.

This is just one of the many reasons that I don't shop at Wal-Mart. When it comes to anything, be it CDs, DVDs, clothes, groceries, whatever...I always go to Target. Wal-Mart is a corrupt, controlling super-monopoly and this is incident is just one more fan on the flames. I hope that Wal-Mart does not succeed in swaying the movie studios in their iTS decisions, because I would much rather download a movie from Apple than set foot in a Wal-Mart again.

Wal-Mart routinely sends back overstock/deleted titles on a weekly basis. Most of the movies are drop shipped to the stores. They aren't stored in a Wal-Mart warehouse somewhere. It would be extremely hard for Wal-Mart to organize all 3000 of its stores to pull the Disney titles and ship mass quantities back just for spite. They can barely get the weekly stuff done now, and that is with 3rd party help.

While I would believe they threatened the studios, I doubt they sent anything back.

Color me awful, but as an independent retailer who has spent the past 12 years dealing with big box stores slashing prices on lines we used to carry, I’m taking great pleasure in watching THEM chase their tails for a change.

Doesn’t feel so good, now does it, Wal-Mart?

Bummer baby. Now, get over it.