Adult-Friendly Vudu Slashes Price on Set-Top Box

LOS ANGELES — The company behind an adult-friendly VOD set-top box has cut its price in half, raising concerns that it might be in trouble.

Vudu.com now offers its cable box for $150, down from $300. According to Vudu Executive VP of Strategy Edward Lichty, the company has slashed prices because they're doing so well, and not because the economy is doing so bad.

"We are reaping the rewards of success in the retail channel over the holidays, lower component prices and higher movie revenues," he saud. "The combination of these factors has enabled us to lower the price of VUDU and bring it within reach of more consumers."

Not everyone's buying the Pollyanna story, though. Just ask tech pundit Wilson Rothman.

"In the past half year, the company has gone through two rounds of layoffs, and the remaining warm bodies are focused on a third-party software for existing devices like, hopefully, Xbox 360 and other consoles," he wrote for Gizmodo.com. "This is probably what they should have been building in the first place. So when we hear there's a sale, we don't think 'success' —we think 'going out of business.'"

The failure of Vudu would be a setback for the adult industry. The size of the setback is debatable, but the fact remains that Vudu combined mainstream and adult entertainment in one set-top box. The Vudu box's adult offerings included titles from high-profile companies like Vivid and Wicked, all delivered through a channel named for industry trade paper Adult Video News.

Industry experts touched on the importance of an integrated set-top box at the 2009 XBIZ Conference, where panelists in one seminar agreed that consumers want a single gizmo that they can plug into their TVs and instantly get all kinds of entertainment, including adult.

"It's a tough thing to get people to put another box on their TV," said Michael Klein of Hustler. "Companies should still offer a mixture of other products, and it might be a better idea to get porn in with other IPTV deals. I mean, are people going to say, 'Welcome to my house. This is my porn box'?"

For more information, visit Vudu.com.

Related:  

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Braindance Unveils '6DOF' VR Tech

Interactive virtual reality platform Braindance has debuted its new Six Degrees of Freedom (6DOF) VR technology.

Kiiroo, Pineapple Support Launch 'Empower Hour' Series on FeelHubX YouTube Channel

Kiiroo and Pineapple Support have teamed up to launch the “Empower Hour” series on the FeelHubX YouTube channel.

Kansas Law Firm Deploys Religion, Bunk Science While Recruiting Plaintiffs Under AV Law

Kansas-based personal injury law firm Mann Wyatt Tanksley is promoting debunked scientific theories and leveraging religious affiliation against the industry while it seeks potential plaintiffs for lawsuits against adult companies under the state’s age verification law.

UK Tech Secretary Lists Age Verification Among OSA Priorities

Peter Kyle, the U.K.’s Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, on Wednesday made public a draft version of his priorities for implementing the Online Safety Act (OSA), including age verification.

AEBN Publishes Popular Seraches by Country for September, October

AEBN has released its list of popular searches from its straight and gay theaters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Avery Jane Featured on 'Adult Time Podcast'

Avery Jane is the latest guest on the “Adult Time Podcast,” hosted by studio CCO Bree Mills.

FSC: Kansas Law Firm Threatens Adult Site Over Age Verification

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has been notified that Kansas law firm Mann Wyatt Tanksley has sent a letter threatening an adult website with a lawsuit for breaking the state's age verification law.

10th Circuit Rejects Final FSC Appeal in Utah AV Case

The United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit on Monday rejected a motion by Free Speech Coalition (FSC) requesting that the full court rehear its appeal in Free Speech Coalition v. Anderson, the industry trade association’s challenge to Utah’s age verification law.

Trump Nominates Project 2025 Contributor, Section 230 Foe to Chair FCC

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated, as his pick to head the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr — an author of Project 2025 who has called for gutting Section 230 protections.

Streamate's Elevate Partners With Miss Mei on Decriminalization Initiative

Streamate’s Elevate initiative is debuting a November collaboration with creator and community advocate Miss Mei that will highlight the modern criminalization of sex work.

Show More