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    Walmart To Buy Smart TV Maker Vizio For $2.3 Billion In Bid To Boost Its Advertising Business

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1078 Views
    A tractor trailer bearing the Walmart logo in Richland, Miss., Sept. 6, 2023. Walmart reports earnings on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, file)
    LOS ANGELES (AP) --

    Walmart is buying the smart TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion as it attempts to expand its rapidly growing advertising business to compete with Amazon.

    If completed, the deal would give Walmart access to Vizio's SmartCast operating system, allowing the retail behemoth to offer its suppliers the ability to display ads on streaming devices.

    Walmart has been ramping up its media and ad business with Walmart Connect, giving advertisers access to Walmart's massive customer base. In its earnings release on Tuesday, Walmart said its global advertising business grew approximately 28% to $3.4 billion last year.

    The moves come as Amazon announced last month it would start charging its Prime members $2.99 per month to keep their movies and TV shows ad-free, on top of the fee it charges for Prime: $14.99 per monh or $139 per year.

    What does Walmart have to gain from a TV maker?

    Vizio's SmartCast system has 18 million active accounts and has grown by 400% since 2018. The companies say that Vizio's platform has more than 500 direct advertisers and that ads now account for the majority of the company's gross profit.

    Makers of streaming hardware like Roku and Vizio have increasingly shifted their focus to ad revenue in recent years. Vizio launched its Vizio Ads business unit in 2019, claiming that it was "one of the few connected TV companies with the device penetration, consumer opt-in and infrastructure to deliver meaningful scale."

    Walmart recognized the Vizio's expanding consumer reach and jumped at the chance to supplement its Walmart Connect business.

    "We believe the combination of these two businesses would be impactful as we redefine the intersection of retail and entertainment," said Seth Dallaire, executive vice president and chief revenue officer for Walmart U.S.

    Who else is stepping up screen advertising?

    Other major streamers –- such as Netflix and Disney –- have embraced the dual model that allows them to earn revenue from ads and also offer subscribers the option to opt out with a higher fee.

    However, in the constantly evolving streaming sector, it remains to be seen whether consumers are willing to pay more to see fewer ads when they are already paying subscription fees, often for multiple services. A big reason that so many viewers "cut the cord" and quit cable TV was frustration over their ever-increasing bills.

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    Category:News
    Tags:SmartCastVizioWalmartWalmart Connect



    A “Masters” Class In Branding and Fashion

    Saturday, April 11, 2026

    If the world of high fashion has Fashion Week in Milan, with sleek models dressed in avant-garde looks strutting down the runways, then the golf world has the Masters, where players bound down verdant green fairways in azalea-inspired polos, exotic bird prints, the yellows of jasmine and the pinks of the dogwoods.

    Over the last few years, golf apparel companies have begun treating the first full week of April as their moment to shine, unveiling lineups of Masters-inspired drops they hope can capture the attention of those focused on the season's first major.

    The surf-style company Johnnie-O, for example, dips into the Deep South with its classic, understated Azalea Collection. Rhobak likewise offers an Azalea Collection, though with bold flower patterns designed to invoke the feel of being on the grounds of Augusta National. Malbon Golf, meanwhile, offers a "Birds of Georgia" set featuring images of those typically found about the course.

    Yet none of them carry the iconic Masters logo. Or reference Amen Corner. Or use the words "Green Jacket."

    All of those are trademarked by the club — three of nearly 100 trademarks on file — and force outside apparel companies to creatively build their connections to both the tournament and Augusta National without infringing on their intellectual property.

    "Makers of products for mass market dream of becoming a supplier to Walmart. Likewise, high-end brands salivate at the idea of winning a mandate from the Masters," said John Sabino, author of "The Augusta Principles: Timeless Business Lessons from the World's Premier Golf Club." "Apparel companies want to tap into the Masters' high-quality association and leverage the club's exalted brand."

    Yet tapping into that association is... Read More

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