A word to pay-TV services looking to join Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Verizon FiOS (NYSE: VZ) in launching movie electronic sell-through services--it's a highly competitive business right now.
Target has announced that it will shutter its Target Ticket transactional movie and TV store March 7. The closure follows the shuttering of Redbox Instant in October.
As first discovered by GigaOm, the retailer says its rented movies and apps will no longer be accessible starting on that date. Customers who previously purchased titles on the platform will now own them through the Best Buy's CinemaNow service. In other words, if you bought Point Break on Target Ticket, you'll now visit CinemaNow to watch it.
"Target has made the decision to end the services offered on Target Ticket and will be focusing efforts on other entertainment offerings," reads a note on the platform's homepage. "Effective March 7th, 2015, Target Ticket will no longer be accessible on your device applications, gaming consoles, tablets, smartphones or on the web. We value you as a Target guest and apologize for the inconvenience this causes."
Target Ticket launched in September 2013 with support for 30,000 movie and TV titles, transacting its offerings through the UltraViolet digital storage cloud.
The service's app made its way onto important platforms like Roku. However, it had to compete head-on with other retail-backed digital services such as Walmart's Vudu, not to mention services like Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes Store, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Play, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) Instant Video and M-GO. There was also Comcast's Xfinity platform and Verizon FiOS to contend with, as well.
For more:
- visit Target Ticket's homepage
- read this GigaOm story
Related links:
Online movie sales jumped in 2013
Comcast's latest X1 upgrades: movie bundles, SAP tags, easier toggling for sports fans
Walmart's Vudu stick launches quietly, but will it make a spark against Chromecast?