Walmart has reportedly met with executives from Disney, Comcast and Paramount to discuss including a streaming service with Walmart+ memberships, people familiar with the matter told The New York Times. The potential move is part of an effort to build relationships with shoppers outside of Walmart stores.
Walmart is reportedly considering which movies and TV shows would add the most value to the membership, according to the people. On-demand entertainment would be another step toward bringing Walmart+ benefits to parity with Amazon Prime. Walmart already has removed shipping minimums and added six months of Spotify Premium access to its incentives, as well as offered perks unmatched by Prime like gas station discounts.
The talks could potentially lead to a number of services being bundled with Walmart+. Disney owns the Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu services, while Comcast operates Peacock and Paramount runs Paramount+ and Showtime. However, it remains unclear whether any of the streaming companies will reach a deal with the retail giant.
This wouldn’t be Walmart’s first foray into streaming. The retailer acquired Vudu in 2010 and added shoppable ads in 2018, but ultimately sold the streaming service to Fandango in 2020.
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