Sears Enters Online Movie Streaming Biz

Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD) is teaming up with Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ:SNIC) to enable Sears and Kmart customers using its movie download service, Alphaline Entertainment, to view flicks instantly on various mobile devices.

Sonic’s multi-year deal with Sears extends the reach of the platform, known as RoxioNow, and will enable the services to be embedded at a chip level on devices such as portable media players and mobile phones. Users will be able to download movies the same day they are released on DVD.

"Collaborating with Sonic provides a great opportunity for Sears and Kmart to launch digital services for customers seeking even faster access to the latest in home entertainment experiences," said Karen Austin, president of consumer electronics for Sears and Kmart.

Sears is the new kid on the block in the online video streaming industry that is already dominated by giants like Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).

The Hoffman Estate, Ill-based broadline retailer said it will continue to increase the system’s reach and flexibility by providing on-demand access.