*By Michael Teich*
Walmart's reported plans to launch a streaming video service may prove futile, said The Information reporter Jessica Toonkel. After all, the retailer, she told Cheddar on Wednesday, is late to the game.
"Netflix and Amazon have been doing this for a while," Toonkel said. "This is a really hard business to get into."
Toonkel broke news this week that Walmart may develop a subscription-based video service to compete with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. The retailer is considering a price point below $8 per month and may also include an ad-supported free service.
What's the likelihood that Walmart will actually enter the streaming business? That depends on its willingness to spend billions of dollars, Toonkel explained. But after generating $17 billion in cash last year, the company potentially has enough ammo to match Netflix's aggressive spending budget, pegged at $8 billion for 2018.
But it's not just a matter of cash flow, Toonkel said. "They have a lot of money, clearly, but they also have investors that might not be as patient as investors in Netflix."
Walmart's last attempt to enter video content faltered ー in 2010 the retailer acquired Vudu, a video-on-demand service that currently offers a combined 100,000 movie titles and television series. But analytics firm comScore reported that users spent only 18,000 hours on the platform in May, just 2 percent of the total hours spent on Netflix and 6 percent of hours spent watching Amazon in the same period.
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/walmart-could-launch-video-streaming-platform)
Peggy Whitson, Director of Human Space Flight, Axiom Space, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss Axiom's involvement in the first fully-private mission to the ISS, and her experience spending 665 days in space.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates, Peggy Whitson, Director of Human Space Flight, Axiom Space, breaks down Axiom's involvement in the first fully-private mission to the ISS, and her experience spending 665 days in space; William Li and Danielle Chang, co-founders of The Hao Life, discuss how they're shaking up the $71 billion supplement industry by putting a modern spin on traditional natural Chinese remedies; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Sagrada Familia: Gaudi's Challenge.'
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On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: Atom Limbs CEO breaks down how the Atom Touch prosthetic is different from other prosthetics on the market; CEO & Chief Scientific Officer of MyMD explains how the MYMD-1 is on track to be the first FDA-approved drug to treat aging and age-related diseases; A look at Curiosity Stream's 'The Future of Warfare.'
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: SkilsVR CEO explains how virtual reality is being used to train frontline workers to handle difficult customers; Rubicon CEO breaks down how technology and sustainability will go hand in hand in the future; Cheddar gets a look at 'Our Infinite Universe.'
As Russian forces invade Ukraine, millions of dollars in cryptocurrency has flowed into the country to lend support. Russian citizens are also seeing the appeal after sanctions have made their traditional banks unreliable. Robbie Heeger, president and CEO of Endaoment, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
