Fandango Is Updating Its Streaming Service Yet Again

Thanks to Movies Anywhere, and their Blu-Ray to digital offers, I had a huge library of digital movies on Vudu. You might be wondering why I'm opening with that, and talking about Vudu, in a piece about Fandango. That's because what's currently Fandango at Home used to be Vudu, and once again, it's undergoing a rebranding, but hopefully those with existing accounts and libraries won't be affected much by that change. In a recent email update, Fandango made clear its converting the current service name into a singular one — from Fandango at Home to Fandango. The email also explains "nothing about your account is changing," and the service will "continue delivering the entertainment you love."

Purportedly, all "movie library, purchases, rentals, watchlists, and preferences" will remain the same when you sign in. That's good news, and judging by what happened to my library after the switch from Vudu, that's an accurate claim. Everything is today as it was before the swap.

Vudu was an excellent way to digitize your Blu-Ray and 4K physical movies while still collecting. For a long time, you could buy Blu-Rays in a bundle that included the disc or physical version and a code for the digital one, redeemed on various services like Movies Anywhere or Vudu. In 2020, Fandango bought Vudu from Walmart, ended its existing FandangoNOW streaming service, and rolled them into one. For a while after it remained called Vudu, where you could buy, rent, and stream movies. In 2024, the name changed to Fandango at Home. Now, we're down to simply Fandango.

The biggest change that's happening is the name, and contextual references to that name are also changing. Everything that used to say "Fandango at Home" will now be simplified. That includes website and app descriptors, app icons, and where "context is helpful," like when describing the service. Stream on Fandango will be the nomenclature now. The new name is already visible on the main website, where you can watch its free streaming movies, which now includes a bunch of Turner Classic Movies, by the way.

According to the team, nothing else is changing. If you have an established account, like I do, it should remain the same and accessible, including your digital library. Any purchases, rentals, watchlists, and saved preferences should remain intact, as well. Additionally, Fandango says FanClub members will still be able to use their $10 monthly promo codes, and FanRewards customers can continue to redeem rewards they've earned towards any ticket or eligible streaming purchase through Fandango's normal channels.

We'll probably see more Fandango promotions in the future, as well. Amazon Prime members were able to watch Spider-Man: Brand New Day early, for example, thanks to a joint promotion with Fandango.

When the original changes were made, some of the older versions of the Vudu FandangoNOW apps were discontinued on older devices, which meant they stopped receiving updates and support in lieu of supporting more modern experiences. The service team warned this could happen on some devices, despite the app icon remaining visible. It does maintain a list of supported devices where you can watch your content libraries. Although there's no clear indication yet that support will end for more devices after the name and service change, it's something to keep in mind.

One of the major downsides of digital media is that you don't actually own anything like you would with a tangible product or disc. Many EULAs propose that you merely have a license to use said products, and there are many instances where digital products stop working or are completely revoked from accounts.

This is incredibly prescient at a time when digital is overtaking physical storefronts; Sony recently announced it would stop physical disc production in 2028 for PlayStation games. Movie ownership has long been grappling with this problem, and Sony's announcement is one step closer to the death of physical media altogether.