Walmart has announced in a press release that it intends to acquire TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion. However, it seems the reason behind this purchase isn't purely down to the hardware...
According to executive vice president and chief revenue officer of Walmart U.S., Seth Dallaire, "We believe VIZIO’s customer-centric operating system provides great viewing experiences at attractive price points. We also believe it enables a profitable advertising business that is rapidly scaling."
Vizio might be best known among consumers for its cheap TVs and soundbars, but the company's smart TV OS SmartCast and device ecosystem has ballooned to having over 18 million active accounts.
As you might be thinking, this platform could prove quite useful to Walmart in terms of advertising, making the company much more competitive with other tech rivals with enormous advertising reach, like Amazon.
Not only does Walmart sell products of its own, but the company has services to advertise, too, like its Walmart+ subscription service. Walmart+ also ties into the world of streaming via the Paramount+ membership which comes with it.
It's unclear what this purchase means for either Vizio or Walmart TVs. If you didn't know, Walmart already has a brand of televisions called Onn. In fact, Walmart sells a variety of tech under the Onn name, including soundbars, headphones, Bluetooth speakers, tablets, accessories, and more. Whether Vizio TVs will eventually be sold under the Onn name remains to be seen.
This purchase comes after Vizio's overhaul of its TV user experience in 2023 as well as Walmart's partnerships with Innovid and Roku both focused on commerce opportunities and expanding advertising reach.
What this means for the future of the cheap TV market, we'll have to wait and see.
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