Barnes & Noble to introduce video service

NEW YORK -- Barnes & Noble Inc. says it will launch a video service this fall that lets users buy and watch movies and TV shows on their mobile devices and televisions.

The New York-based company says users of Nook Video will be able to shop an extensive collection of movies and shows from major studios including HBO, Sony Pictures, Viacom and Warner Brothers. The move into video puts Barnes & Noble more directly into competition with other online video providers, including Amazon.com and Apple Inc.

Users will be able to download videos and view them on Barnes & Noble's Nook tablets and other devices with the Nook Video app, which the company plans to launch soon.

A company representative said in an emailed statement that prices for movies and shows have not been determined but that they will be competitive with other leading services. There are no plans for an unlimited streaming service similar to Netflix Inc.

Barnes & Noble, the largest traditional U.S. bookseller, is facing tough competition from online retailers such as Amazon.com, which sells the Kindle tablets and e-readers, as consumers increasingly move away from traditional books in favor of electronic books, and from DVDs to streaming video.

That has prompted the company to invest heavily it its Nook e-reader and e-books, with digital content playing a key role in its last quarters.

Last month, the company said its Nook unit -- which includes e-readers, digital content and accessories -- had basically flat revenue at $192 million in its fiscal first quarter. Sales of digital content surged 46 percent. This content includes digital books, digital newsstand and the apps business.

Barnes & Noble has 689 stores in the U.S. The company's stock fell 3.7 percent to close at $12.26 Tuesday, after rising as high as $13.61 in morning trading.