Fandango isn't selling movie tickets right now, due to the coronavirus crisis that has closed the nation's cinemas. But the NBCUniversal-owned company is in a buying mood as it looks to sell users more movies online.
Los Angeles-based Fandango has signed an agreement to acquire Vudu, the video-on-demand service owned by Walmart, a spokeswoman confirmed Monday.
Financial details were not disclosed. The company declined to comment further.
Fandango, run by President Paul Yanover, plans to use Vudu to increase its presence in the digital video space. The company already has a service called FandangoNow, which lets users buy and rent films, similar to Apple's iTunes and Google Play.
Vudu announced the deal in a blog post addressed to users.
"While there will be many more exciting things to share in the months ahead, nothing about the Vudu experience is changing _ your movie & TV library is safe, and you will continue to have access to all your Vudu apps across your favorite devices," the company said in the post.
"Vudu will continue to deliver an amazing experience, and we promise that the future will bring more new features, offerings, and other benefits as we join the Fandango family," Vudu said.
The deal comes as Fandango's parent company, Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, is increasingly experimenting with early video-on-demand releases for its theatrical movies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Universal Pictures on April 10 released "Trolls World Tour" on digital platforms, charging customers $20 to rent the DreamWorks Animation movie. Universal did not say how much money the release generated in sales, but said the results exceeded the company's expectations.
"Trolls World Tour" is the top-selling movie on FandangoNow for the second weekend in a row, the company said Monday.
Fandango has worked to grow its brand in recent years from a mere ticketseller to a more all-encompassing service for film fans. In 2016, it bought the influential film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
Burbank, Calif.-based studio Warner Bros. owns a minority stake in Fandango.
