Walmart has held talks with major media companies about including streaming entertainment in its membership service, according to three people with knowledge of the talks, as part of an effort to expand its relationship with customers beyond its physical stores.
In recent weeks, executives from Paramount, Disney and Comcast have been talking to Walmart, people said, as the retailer ponders which movies and TV shows would add the most value to its membership bundle, dubbed Walmart+. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the conversations were private.
It’s unclear if any of the streaming companies are willing to make a deal with Walmart. Disney operates the streaming services Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu; Comcast owns the Peacock streaming service; and Paramount operates the Paramount+ and Showtime services.
A Walmart+ membership, which costs $12.95 per month, includes free shipping on orders and discounts on fuel. It also includes a free six-month subscription to the Spotify Premium music service.
A Walmart spokesperson declined to comment.
As the streaming field gets crowded, the biggest media companies have turned to giants in other industries to find new subscribers. Wireless carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile have made deals to offer their customers free or discounted subscriptions to streaming services like Disney+ or Paramount+ as an added incentive to sign up. Media companies, in turn, are getting an influx of new customers whose subscriptions are subsidized by their wireless partner.
The logic is similar for Walmart, according to two people familiar with the company’s strategy. The retailer is increasingly striving to build a relationship with its customers beyond the footprint of its big-box stores, especially given the dominance of Amazon.com’s Prime membership program.
Walmart, with its thousands of stores visited by millions of customers every week, has long been a major center of gravity in the entertainment industry. The retailer’s power to sell music, movies, and merchandise made the company’s headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., a destination for studio chiefs, musicians, and entrepreneurs seeking the company’s favor.
As the consumption of music, movies and TV shows shifts online, Walmart has explored several strategies to maintain its media preeminence, including buying a streaming service called Vudu and investing in Eko, an interactive video company.
But the retailer is struggling to compete with some of its rivals in the expensive video streaming business. Walmart sold Vudu to Comcast’s Fandango in 2020, and the service hasn’t been able to meet as much demand as its biggest competitors so far, according to streaming data company Parrot Analytics.
