Transactional video on demand service Target Ticket will soon be no more: The retailer announced that the service is shutting down on March 7 and that it "will be focusing efforts on other entertainment offerings." The company has turned off its rental function, although customers will still be able to access content that they rented before Feb. 10.
Third-party provider CinemaNow will provide access to movies owned by Target Ticket customers once the service shuts down; account holders will be able to log in using their Target Ticket username and password.
Ultraviolet subscribers may be able to access their Target Ticket-purchased content via that service as well, the company said.
Launched in fall 2013, Target Ticket's demise is painfully similar to the closing of Samsung's Video and Media Hub, which shut down in August 2014 and transferred its customers' accounts to M-GO.
And as the third major company to shutter a transactional service--Verizon gave up on Redbox Instant in October 2014 after just 18 months--it may have some wondering if TVOD can really hold its own in the online video market. The Ultraviolet initiative is still sputtering along, attracting 20 million subscribers since its launch in 2011 and 17 retailers.
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Target Ticket posted this announcement on its home page. (Source: targetticket.com) |
For more:
- GigaOm has this story
- Variety has this story
- see Target's announcement
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