Walmart has been in 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 extend its relationship with customers beyond its physical stores. .
In recent weeks, executives from Paramount, Disney and Comcast have spoken with Walmart, the people said, as the retailer mulls which movies and TV shows would add more value to its membership package, called Walmart+. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were private.
It’s unclear if either streaming company is willing to strike a deal with Walmart. Disney operates the Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu streaming services; Comcast owns the Peacock streaming service; and Paramount runs 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 spokesman declined to comment.
As the transmission field becomes more crowded, the biggest media companies have turned to giants from other industries to find new subscribers. Wireless carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile have struck 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 receiving 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 looking to build its relationship with its customers beyond the footprint of its big-box stores, particularly given the dominance of Amazon.com’s Prime membership program.
Walmart, with its thousands of stores frequented by millions of customers weekly, 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 heads, musicians and entrepreneurs looking to court the company’s favor.
As the consumption of music, movies and TV shows online changes, Walmart has explored different strategies to maintain its primacy in media, including buying a streaming service called Vudu and investing in Eko, an interactive video company. .
But the retailer has struggled to compete with some of its rivals in the expensive streaming video business. Walmart sold Vudu to Comcast’s Fandango in 2020, and so far the service has failed to capture as much demand as its biggest competitors, according to streaming data firm Parrot Analytics.
