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"Following all the CES hoopla about the growing number of content partnerships between producers and hardware manufacturers and the like, Wal-Mart might be re-thinking its recent shutdown of its online movie download service. So says Todd Spangler of Multichannel News, who referenced executives of one (unnamed) digital rights management firm as having discussed the issue of \u201Cwhat technologies are required to offer a paid download service\u201D with Wal-Mart representatives. Spangler claims \u201Cthe retailer\u2019s reps were interested in how to allow downloaded movie files to be burned onto discs for playback.\u201D\nWhat should we make of this revelation? Well, if we look at it objectively, it\u2019s really to be expected of Wal-Mart to want to get in the game once again. Despite having managed a mostly idle movie download center for one year before its closing in December, the company of course has to try to maintain its lead as a primary distributor of media. And if that means resurrecting something long considered dead in the water, so be it.\nThe thing is, it\u2019s rather difficult to foresee something sprout from the Walton empire that so widely triggers the interests of consumers as far as Web-based services are concerned. Sure, the preeminent global master of the warehousing business is great with hawking tangible goods, both online and off. But when it comes to digital things, it\u2019s playing to a far smaller crowd than, say, iTunes. Even Amazon\u2019s digital marketplace \u2013 home to AmazonMP3, and Amazon Unbox - looks to have a better shot at putting together a massively profitable business in the year(s) ahead than Wal-Mart.\nAnd that\u2019s because both Apple and Amazon have long lived out in the cloud. The latter of the two has indeed spent its entire existence selling various items to Internet shoppers. Wal-Mart has\u2026not.\nStill, it wouldn\u2019t be appropriate to pass off this slow-to-evolve retailer as unworthy of success in the digital ether. If any sales force in the US \u2013 and the world \u2013 has a chance to make an significant imprint with relatively little expertise concerning Web, it\u2019s Wal-Mart.\nHow much credence do you think the story highlighted above has? Let us know. If you don\u2019t care either way, let us know, too.\n\n\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2008/01/11/wal-mart-rethinking-shutdown-of-movie-download-service/>