Walmart was the most effective convergent TV advertiser in the second quarter according to EDO, a measurement firm specializing in predicting how well commercials perform.

Walmart’s ads were 144% more effective than the average for the retail category, EDO said.

Following Walmart in convergent TV ad performance were Target, Old Navy, Kohl’s and T.J. Maxx.

On average, department store streaming TV ads were 19% more effective than their convergent average, which includes both linear and streaming commercials.

But different stores followed different strategies and got different results.

Target’s linear TV ads outperformed its own convergent TV average by 7.5%, EDO found.

On the other hand at Marshalls, streaming TV outperformed its convergent TV average by 43%.

“With a short window to engage consumers during the pivotal back-to-school season, retailers need to know whether their ads are making an impact, and they need to know while there’s still time to adjust their campaigns,” said Laura Grover, EDO’s senior , Head of Client Solutions. “By measuring and optimizing for predictive outcomes like brand searches and website visits, Department store brands can put themselves in the best possible position to generate a strong return on investment from their high-volume back-to-school campaigns.”

Women over 65 years of age were most likely to engage with department store ads in the second quarter, followed by 18 to 24 year old men and women 65 plus.

The hardest to engage with were men and women in the 25 to 44 year old demographic.

Consumer engaged with department store ads most on Thursdays, followed by Tuesdays and Wednesdays, according to the EDO report.

Walmart plans to redo and refile documents pertaining to antitrust issues regarding its proposed acquisition of Vizio.

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Vizio, “following informal discussions with the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, Walmart notified the antitrust agencies that Walmart will voluntarily withdraw and refile the Hart-Scott-Rodino notification report form for the merger in order to give the antitrust agencies additional time to review the proposed transaction.”

Walmart plans to refile on March 29 and said the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements act will expire on April 29.

The filing did not specify what if any objection regulators had to the potential combination of the giant retailer and the TV set maker, which is also a leading provider of viewing data through its Inscape unit.

Walmart agreed to buy Vizio for $2.3 billion in February.

Walmart planned to use Vizio’s SmartCast TV operating system as a way to connect with customers,

Analysts said that a combination of Walmart and Vizio had the potential to disrupt the CTV advertising landscape

Adding Vizio would help Walmart grow its already burgeoning media business. Like other retailers, Walmart is in the data business, helping marketers figure out if their advertising is driving store sales. With Vizio’s viewing data, Walmart could have a big advantage in tracking advertising effectiveness.

Walmart said it agreed to buy smart TV set maker Vizio for $2.3 billion.

Walmart plans to use Vizio’s SmartCast TV operating system as a way to connect with customers at a time when retail media spending is exploding.

“There is a lot to be excited about with this acquisition,” said Seth Dallaire, executive VP and chief revenue officer, Walmart U.S. 

Also Read: Analyst Says Walmart Buying Vizio Could ‘Disrupt’ Smart TV Market

“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,” Dallaire said. “Our media business, Walmart Connect, is helping brands create meaningful connections with the millions of customers who shop with us each week. We believe the combination of these two businesses would be impactful as we redefine the intersection of retail and entertainment.”

Walmart Connect is the retailer’s media business, which offers brands a closed-loop look at how media spending impacts retail sales. 

The combination of Vizio's viewer data and Walmart’s shopping data could create a player in the connected TV market strong enough  to compete with online retailer Amazon and other streaming powerhouses like YouTube and Roku.

Vizio has been barely breaking even on selling TV sets — Walmart is its biggest retailer — but has been growing its data and advertising business.

The Platform Plus business now accounts for a majority of Vizio’s profit.

“We believe this is the ideal next chapter in Vizio’s history,“ Vizio founder and CEO William Wang said. “By bringing our capabilities and resources together, we’ll drive innovation and create even more value for our customers. Walmart’s approach is aligned with Vizio’s mission and vision and our technology will help bring a scaled, connected TV advertising platform to Walmart Connect. This transaction delivers immediate and compelling value to Vizio stockholders and is a true testament to the hard work of the entire Vizio team.”

The deal calls for Walmart to pay $11.50 per share in cash for Vizio.

Vizio’s board has approved the deal unanimously. Shareholders holding about 89% of the company’s votes — including Wang — have also approved the transaction.

Because of some transaction-related costs associated with the acquisition, including for talent retention and technology integration, Walmart expects the transaction to be slightly dilutive to earnings per share in the near term.

Following the completion of the transaction, Vizio’s business will be reported as part of the Walmart U.S. segment.

Typically subject to the crosswinds of Wall Street, Roku stock has declined more than 7% to around $91 a share since Tuesday, when the Wall Street Journal reported that Walmart is in talks to possibly buy smart TV maker Vizio for around $2 billion. 

Also read: Analyst Says Walmart Buying Vizio Could ‘Disrupt’ CTV Market

While Vizio stock soared in the immediate aftermath of the WSJ story, up over 25% as Broadcasting+Cable reported Tuesday, Roku's latest rush of investor momentum, accrued with the Roku heading into its full-2023/Q4 earnings report on Thursday, was crushed. (Roku stock had been up nearly 9% since the beginning of 2024.)

Influential equity research firm MoffettNathan advised readers in a late Tuesday afternoon investor note to sell Roku stock. 

Walmart accounts for 40% of Roku device sales, principal analyst Michael Nathanson wrote, with Roku's TVOS not only powering Walmart's house brand, Onn, but also budget-priced sets manufactured by makers including TCL and Hisense. Roku also moves a lot of player pucks, dongles and HDMI sticks through Walmart.

"A purchase of Vizio would allow Walmart to prioritize their product over competing low-end sets," Nathanson said. 

Of more concern to Roku is the "platform" side of Roku's business, which accounted for more than 86% of its revenue in the third quarter of last year. Walmart's entry would create another powerful competitor for Roku in the connected-TV advertising market.

"Walmart's reported move to acquire Vizio can be seen as a challenge to the CTV advertising landscape as they can also marry first-party data with full-funnel ad inventory," Nathanson wrote. "Walmart and Amazon both have the ability (and assets) along with Alphabet's YouTube to be highly disruptive to CTV incumbents.

"Ironically, while our negative thesis on Roku (sell, $66 PT) is based on increasing competition from better capitalized rivals, we did not think Walmart was one of those competitors," the analyst added.

If Walmart buys smart TV set maker Vizio, it could disrupt the connected TV advertising market, analyst Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson said.

Walmart is in talks to acquired Vizio for more than $2 billion, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Vizio stock jumped 25% to close at $9.75 a share on Tuesday. The company had no comment on the sale talks.

While Walmart could push to sell Vizio’s inexpensive sets in its stores, a bigger impact could be in the advertising business, where TV set and streaming device makers are increasingly building profitable businesses selling commercials based on the data they get from their TV operating systems.

“Walmart's reported move to acquire Vizio can be seen as a challenge to the CTV advertising landscape as they can also marry first-party data with full-funnel ad inventory. Walmart and Amazon both have the ability (and assets) along with Alphabet's YouTube to be highly disruptive to CTV incumbents,” Nathanson said in a report.

CTV advertising is popular as more viewers switch to streaming. It is also valuable because it is addressable, enabling advertisers to more precisely target the viewers they want to reach.

Nathanson notes that TV set makers (or OEMs, original equipment manufacturers) are willing to lose money selling set in order to make money on their ad  and data platforms.

In the third quarter, Vizio’s Platform Plus business grew gross profits by 20% to $99.8 million as revenue rose 22% to $156.2 million. Ad sales were up 27%. At the same time, Vizio’s device business lost $3 million as smart-TV shipments dropped 8%.

Vizio also announced that its was looking to license its WatchFree Plus operating system to other set makers, a move that would expand its total addressable market and build scale to attract more marketers as advertising clients.

For Walmart, Vizio would grow its already burgeoning media business. Like other retailers, Walmart is in the data business, helping marketers figure out if their advertising is driving store sales. 

It is also in the retail media business, selling space on its websites, social platforms and in-store displays to marketers. The combination of selling media and documenting retail results is a powerful one, particularly for consumer packaged goods marketers.

Media agency GroupM forecasts that  retail media will grow by 11% to $42.5 billion this year and hit $59.7 billion by 2028.

Nathanson notes that Amazon is also pushing harder into the CTV advertising market, putting advertising on Amazon Prime Video.

Amazon has 17% of the streaming operating systems market, behind Roku, the leader with 25%, according to Parks Associates. Vizio has an 8% share.

Nathanson notes that he recommends selling Roku stock because of increasing competition from better capitalized rivals.

“We did not think Walmart was one of those competitors. Once again, 2024 is shaping up to be a year of tremendous change for an industry that was already in flux,” Nathanson said.

Walmart is already Vizio’s biggest customer and sell more Vizio sets than any other brand. Walmart also sells sets with its own Onn brand, which run on Roku or Google TV operating systems.

NBCUniversal said it is working with Walmart to let viewers watching Bravo’s Below Deck Mediterranean buy items from the show during commercial breaks using their remote control.

Shoppable episodes of Below Deck Mediterranean will appear November 7, December 5 and December 12.

“Walmart customers are finding inspiration everywhere and anywhere, including their favorite TV shows,” said William White, chief marketing officer at Walmart U.S. “It’s why we’re always looking for innovative ways to shorten the distance between that inspiration and the ability to purchase. We know some of our customers’ most loved TV shows right now are on Bravo. By expanding our shoppable TV footprint with NBCUniversal, we're pairing our incredible product assortment with some of their most talked-about content so our customers can quickly purchase items inspired by their favorite cast members while they're watching.” 

The items available will include glassware, table settings and cookware.

The shoppable episodes are enabled by NBCU’s Must Shop TV technology, which is powered by KERV Interactive,  and Walmart’s web checkout system. 

Must ShopTV also takes advantage of NBCUniversal’s shoppable Engagement Ads powered by Brightline, shoppable Pause Ads, and on-platform experiences to steer fans on how to get their luxury yacht lifestyle items. 

“For so long, viewers had to take the hard route, scouring the internet to find a product like what they saw their favorite icons or creators use in-show,” said Josh Feldman, global chief marketing officer, Advertising & Partnerships, NBCUniversal. “Now, through the power of Must ShopTV, and with Walmart as our launch partner, Bravo fans can get even closer to the content they love by discovering the brands that are already part of the story.”  

In February, Walmart launched, via its own "Onn." brand, the cheapest Google TV device yet, a 4K puck that retails for around $20. 

The tech blogs, well equipped to compare and benchmark these gadgets, have raved about it, with The Verge calling player -- which is significantly cheaper than Google's own Chromecast with Google TV -- the "best deal in streaming today." 

Walmart, which has accelerated streaming adoption in recent years with super-cheap Onn.-branded HDMI gadgets, is apparently going even lower. Tech blogger David Zatz and his Zats Not Funny blog uncovered an FCC filing that appears to pertain to an Onn.-brand HD-only Google TV HDMI stick.

The filing includes a diagram (see below) for a product label, which belies the profile of such a stick. 

Zatz suggests the device will probably retail for around $15, replacing the discontinued Onn.-branded HDMI stick powered by Google TV's predecessor OS, Android TV. 

NBCUniversal said it is working with Walmart to help advertisers connect with shoppers at the retail chain.

NBCU joins media companies including Roku and TikTok, which previously announced working with Walmart Connect.

Retail media, with a direct connection to consumers and the data to measure the impact of campaigns on individual products sold at stores, has become one of the fastest-growing media categories. Media buyer GroupM estimates retail media will grow 13% to $37.9 billion in 2023.

NBCU will be conducting a test to measure the impact of retail-media-powered ads within livestreaming sports, giving advertisers access to Peacock inventory via Walmart Connect’s demand-side platform.

“This will mark the first time NBCUniversal’s live sports streaming inventory will be available through a retail media network — just in time for this autumn’s prime sports seasons and holiday campaigns,” said Sylvia Yam, senior director of strategy and business development at Walmart Connect. “Brands will be able to use Walmart Connect’s unparalleled targeting and measurement to reach streaming viewers during live sports programs.”

Walmart also said other NBCU premium content will be available as part of the retailer’s premium CTV bundle, offering Walmart Connect’s targeting and measurement capabilities. The Walmart bundle already features Paramount Plus.

“At NBCUniversal, we know that partnerships fuel progress — and we’re delighted to partner with Walmart Connect to bring brands and sports fans closer together through the content and shopping experiences that keep them on the edge of their seats,” NBCU executive VP, advanced advertising and partnerships Joe Cady said. “Sports enthusiasts are an unmatched audience, and with the power and scale of NBCUniversal’s digital advertising capabilities, combined in a privacy-minded way, with Walmart Connect’s shopper data, we’re able to add even more value for advertisers. It’s a win-win across the board.”  

The combination of premium video inventory, like NBCU’s, and the Walmart shopper data can be a game-changer for marketers.

“Danone North America is continuously exploring the best ways to effectively reach consumers. Utilizing purchase-based targeting with Walmart Connect’s premium CTV bundle gave us the opportunity to see how the retailer’s audience targeting performs with streaming partners,” Danone director, media connections Mary Katherine Woltz said. “The ability to pair premium inventory with purchaser data is proving to be powerful — we connected to more than 30% new-to-brand buyers in one CTV campaign, and a complimentary onsite display campaign on Walmart.com drove 50% of attributed sales.” 

Roku signed up for Walmart Connect last year. In September, Walmart became the first retailer to enable streamers to purchase products directly on Roku and have them fulfilled by Roku. Walmart found 57% of Roku streamers paused an ad to shop for the product online.

“Advertisers also receive insights on effectiveness through Walmart Connect’s omnichannel measurement reports,” Yam added.

“We believe a frictionless omnichannel shopping experience is where the industry is going and should go,” Jeff Metzner, VP of Walmart Team marketing and communications at Procter & Gamble, said. “The ability to purchase a product directly from a connected TV ad has potential to reduce that friction for the consumer, so we’d like to see these capabilities continue to develop.”  

During the pilot program, which ran from November 2022 through February 2023, shoppable ads on Roku received click-through rates at least three times than average video campaigns powered by the Walmart DSP. 

Roku is expanding its work with Walmart by including its premium inventory within Walmart Connect’s CTV offering.

“The overwhelming success of our pilot with Walmart reinforces our shared belief that the ease and convenience of TV streaming makes it the next great destination for e-commerce,” said Lindsay Pullins, Director of Ad Revenue Partnerships at Roku. 

TikTok worked with Walmart to provide advertisers with closed-loop data on the impact of TikTok campaign on products at retail.

On average, the pilot campaign generated engagement rates two times higher than TikTok’s standard benchmarks for U.S. campaigns. The average video viewing time for Walmart customers also exceeded industry benchmarks.

“We are thrilled about the opportunity to expand our partnership with Walmart Connect,” said Matt Cleary, U.S. head of retail and eCommerce, Global Business Solutions at TikTok. “By marrying TikTok’s ability to drive product discovery with Walmart Connect’s rich customer insights and broad product assortment, we are creating new ways for brands to reach key audiences in a measurable and joy-filled environment, further connecting the path between inspiration and action.”

As expected, Walmart has introduced its own version of a Google TV-powered streaming device, priced at under $20 and monikered under the big-box retailer's "Onn." electronics brand. 

The big surprise: The gadget is 4K-capable, which seems to undermine Google's own recently introduced, budget-minded HD-only Chromecast with Google TV dongle, which sells for roughly the same price. 

As originally spotted by Cord Cutter News, Walmart published a product listing for its new device last week, but you can't buy it directly online. The listing merely can tell you the closest brick-and-mortar Walmart store that has it in stock. (Price: $19.88. In Los Angeles, we found four locations with it in stock within 13 miles of us.)

The product listing also details the gadget's guts, which include a quad-core Cortex-A35 CPU with 2 gigabytes of RAM and 8 GB of storage. Dolby Audio is also featured.

Walmart has sold sub-$20 4K streaming pucks, dongles and sticks powered by Google TV's predecessor TVOS, Android TV, for several years, under numerous brand names. But this is the first time we've seen a 4K Google TV device for under 20 bucks. 

Back in February, an FCC product registration page was spotted for an Onn.-branded Google TV device powered by an Amlogic S905Y4 chipset ... and with AV1 codec capabilities. The latter was perhaps a key tell that the gadget would support 4K when it hit the market. 

Three years ago, Walmart created a new streaming gadget category, introducing sticks, dongles and hockey pucks powered by Android TV, and pricing HD streaming below $20 and 4K watching at cheaper than $30. 

Earlier this week, tech enthusiasts spotted a new FCC product registration page form submitted by “Luxshare Precision Industry Co." 

According to 9to5 Google, this AV1-capable gadget, powered by an Amlogic S905Y4 chipset, is a refresh of Walmart's Onn-branded 4K streaming device, which has largely disappeared from the retailer's real and virtual shelves in recent months. 

Notably, according 9to5 Google predicts, the product update will advanced from Android TV to Google TV.

"When we reviewed the Walmart Onn Android TV streamers in 2020, we were impressed at the overall performance to value ratio," the tech blog wrote. "At times those streamers outperformed Google’s own Chromecast at nearly half the price, and often even lower ... I couldn’t be more pleased to hear this device is coming back."

Walmart hasn't confirmed the product yet or announced a street date. 

NBCUniversal and Walmart are getting together for the holidays to launch a shopping show that will livestream Thursday on E! Online.

LivE! Deals for the Holiday Season will be hosted by Erin Lim Rhodes and Francesca Amiker of E! News and offer viewers an array of holiday gifts, including cookware, toys and self-care items. 

With the live format, viewers will be able to ask questions about products and make purchases in real time.

“We’re embarking on the next iteration of livestream shopping. With NBCUniversal’s One Platform reach combined with our iconic storytelling, viewers will be entertained by the content, inspired to interact  with Walmart’s products, and delighted by the seamless purchasing experience, ultimately deepening the connection between consumers and brands,” said Evan Moore, senior VP, Commerce Partnerships at NBCUniversal Advertising & Partnerships. 

After it streams on E!Online, the half hour program will be available on-demand on NBCU’s Peacock streaming platform. .

NBCU has been building up its commerce capabilities, with its Shoppable TV and NBCUniversal Checkout. NBCU’s Bravo network uses those capabilities during its Bravocon, which included a Bravo Bazaar shopping experience that quadrupled in size from last year.

Also Read: NBCU Makes ‘Love Island USA’ Shoppable on Peacock

“The future of livestream shopping is bright, and we are continuously innovating to meet the evolving needs of our customers in new dynamic and immersive environments,” said

Sarah Henry, Head of Content, Influencer and Commerce, Walmart. “This season, we know our customers are seeking holiday inspiration at affordable prices, which is why we’re thrilled to partner with NBCUniversal to create an engaging and seamless shopping

experience featuring some of our most popular products at prices that are sure to put viewers in the holiday spirit.” 

Walmart has been a pioneer in social commerce, launching its first shoppable livestream in 2020. Since then, the retailer has tested home shopping across formats, platforms and partners. This year, Walmart has supported more than 350 shoppable livestreams, a 600% increase from last year. 

LivE! Deals for the Holiday Season will be marketed broadly, NBUC said.

“Our fans at E! always want to be the first to know what is trending in pop culture, including the hottest new products and deals on the market,” said Tammy Filler, executive VP and editor-in-chief, E! News.  “They have trust in our brand and trust in our talent. Through this partnership with Walmart, we’re providing consumers the opportunity to shop the latest must-haves with a frictionless and fun live experience.”  ■

It's perhaps the most conspicuous sign yet that Comcast's bid to establish a gateway OS presence for smart TVs sold by major retailers has stalled.

Smart TVs branded and powered by the cable giant's XClass TV OS are currently listed as out of stock at their exclusive retail home, Walmart, and are unavailable for purchase during this Black Friday shopping period.

Also read: Has Comcast's XClass TV Drive Stalled Nearly One Year After Launch?

The 50- and 43-inch TVs, built by China's Hisense and introduced in October 2021, no longer surface in product searches on Walmart.com. A visit to the XClass TV landing page reveals that both models of XClass TV sets are sold out. 

As they did in September, when we first noticed that XClass TV models had very low search priority on Walmart.com, Comcast reps didn't respond to inquiries for comment. 

XClass TV is based on source code first established a decade ago with the release of Comcast's Xfinity X1 operating system for Comcast cable TV subscribers, and later the Xfinity Flex thin-client streaming devices the MSO gave away for free to its broadband-only customers. 

Comcast has strategic plans to expand the OS out of its footprint and have it compete in the gateway OS smart TV market alongside Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Google TV, among other operating systems. 

Comcast partnered with Walmart and Hisense 13 months ago to sell smart TVs based on this model. And earlier this year, it formed a joint venture with Charter Communications to manage XClass TV and other components of its streaming ventures. That JV was branded "Xumo TV" earlier this month. 

XClass TV was mentioned in the press release announcing the Xumo TV moniker. However, neither Comcast or the JV has released any sales figures -- or any other data, for that matter -- on XClass TV since it made its Walmart debut. 

Walmart said it is expanding Walmart Connect, which works on home shopping with advertisers and media platforms and has data on consumer behavior.

Partners including Roku, TikTok, Snap, Firework and TalkShopLive will work with Walmart Connect as innovation partners that will test and learn new ways to reach consumers via social media, entertainment, t-commerce and live streaming during the holiday season.

Retailers, including Target and Kroger, work with advertisers and media companies to help measure the impact of advertising and marketing programs 

Also: GroupM Sees Fast Growth in E-Commerce, Retail Media

“Together, we will work with each partner to more deeply connect advertisers with customers throughout key moments in the shopper journey in order to provide the best solutions for advertisers,” said Seth Dallaire, executive VP and chief revenue officer of Walmart U.S. in a blog post.

Walmart in June announced enabling streamers to purchase featured products fulfilled by Walmart directly on Roku.

Also: NewFronts: Roku Makes A Splash With Martha, Microsoft

The shopping experience will be funded by advertisers through Walmart Connect and Roku Advertising, the companies said. Walmart Connect will connect brands to customers through the t-commerce platform on Roku. Advertisers will receive insights on effectiveness with Walmart Connect measurement.

“Our partnerships further underscore how Walmart Connect is committed to evolving our business and expanding our offerings to actively stay ahead of what advertisers need,” Dallaire said. “There is no other platform that can extend to new formats where customers are engaging and interacting, and leverage Walmart’s unparalleled first party omnichannel data to deliver measurable sales performance. We are excited to test, learn and iterate on what drives performance for advertisers as we continue to break new ground with our partners.”  ■

As the official kickoff to the college football season, the Labor Day holiday weekend is typically an active period for smart-TV shopping, as consumers ponder their obsolete display roster and look to upgrade before the onslaught of big games. 

Search under the keyword "smart TV" on Walmart.com on this post-holiday Wednesday, and you can still find a flurry of discounted smart TVs priced under $300. But something caught our eye as we perused the fair of Samsung, TCL, Vizio, Hisense and Onn.-branded sets listed on the big-box retailer's website. 

We had to scroll down pretty far — through eight vertical lines of thumbnails — to find a 50-inch Hisense 4K/UHD smart TV powered by Comcast’s XClass TV OS, discounted by $100 to just $248. 

In case you might have forgotten, Comcast officially kicked off its XClass TV initiative nearly 11 months ago, introducing 50-inch and 43-inch smart TVs made by Hisense and sold exclusively at Walmart, and powered by a TVOS based on source code originally developed for the Xfinity X1 and Flex pay TV platforms.

Comcast, which lost over half a million pay TV customers in Q2 and saw its customer base dwindle to 17.144 million subscribers, is looking to compete with Google, Roku and Amazon for market share in the smart TV OS market, and extend its control of the connected living room beyond the pay TV era. 

How's that effort going? Tough to say. 

“I have heard nothing, nor have I seen an ad for one either,” TVREV analyst Alan Wolk said in a Wednesday afternoon email exchange focused on XClass TV. “I have to remind myself that they actually rolled it out a while back and that it is currently in stores.” 

A Comcast rep has yet to respond to our Tuesday-afternoon request for an update on the XClass TV initiative. 

Certainly, the global smart TV OS market isn't becoming less competitive. Just in the past few weeks, for example, Xperi Corp. announced a deal to provide TiVo-branded TVOS to Istanbul-based Vestel, Europe's largest smart TV supplier. And Roku-powered TCL smart TVs entered the German market. 

And Comcast, which partnered its TVOS efforts with Charter Communications earlier this year, doesn't appear to have given up on its quest to make X1/Flex a gateway app. Earlier this summer, Protocol reported that Comcast has had M&A discussions with Vizio and other smart TV makers. 

Notably, the 986 Walmart customer reviews for the 50-inch XClass TV-powered Hisense set were significantly fewer than most of the other smart TVs listed on Walmart.com, some of which had more than 8,000 customer reviews. This perhaps offers some indication of relative sales. 

For the most part, reviews for the XClass TVs are on par with the rest of those sold on Walmart.com, averaging about four and a half stars out of five, and with most reviews focused on aspects of the Hisense device, not its operating software. 

Conspicuously, the first review surfacing for the 50-Inch XClass — from a happy customer offering up a five-star rating — does mention the TVOS: “I could care less about the software on the TV because I use an Amazon Fire Stick,” the reviewer wrote. ■

Paramount Global and Walmart have reached an agreement for the retail giant to bundle streaming service Paramount Plus into its Walmart Plus online membership program at no additional cost to consumers. 

Starting in September, the companies confirmed Monday, Walmart Plus members will receive the partially ad-supported iteration of Paramount Plus, a $4.99-a-month value, for no additional charge beyond the $12.95-a-month price of their membership.

Launched two years ago, Walmart Plus is similar in concept to Amazon Prime, offering customers trinkets like the Prime Video SVOD service along with free shipping of purchased goods. 

Walmart had reportedly also met with Disney and Comcast about the possibility of bundling their subscription streaming platforms into Walmart Plus.

“With the addition of Paramount Plus, we are demonstrating our unique ability to help members save even more and live better by delivering entertainment for less, too,” Chris Cracchiolo, general manager of Walmart Plus, said in a news release.

Paramount Plus finished the second quarter with 43.3 million subscribers globally. Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish has stated a goal for the service having 100 million subscribers by 2024. 

Walmart Plus gets the SVOD closer to that bar, but it's hard to tell how much -- Walmart hasn't disclosed how many customers Walmart Plus has at this point. 

Market research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimated that as of July, Walmart Plus had 11 million customers. But equity research firm Morgan Stanley has a higher estimate of 16 million members as of May.

Walmart is reportedly in discussions with Disney, Comcast and Paramount about adding a streaming component to Walmart Plus, the Amazon Prime-like membership service that offers customers free shipping for goods purchased over the internet. 

According to the New York Times, the talks have occurred in "recent weeks," but it's unclear as to whether the initiative would involve a new streaming video entity or merely a re-bundling of Disney Plus, Paramount Plus and Peacock. 

Also undeciphered: Any level of interest the media companies might have. 

Walmart Plus is offered to consumers for $12.95 and already includes perks like a free subscription to music streaming service Spotify for six months. 

As with Amazon Prime Video, Walmart is undoubtedly looking to add more value to its membership platform. It has strong relationships with the large media conglomerates dating back to the hot-selling days of DVDs back in the first half of the aughts. 

Walmart has a number of current-day partnerships with these companies, including an initiative launch last year, XClass TV, to rebrand Hisense smart TVs and power them with Comcast's TVOS. Those TV's come with a subscription to Peacock Premium baked in. 

However, streaming has proven tricky for Walmart. For example, the retail giant paid $100 million for TVOD service Vudu in 2010, then spent millions more in 2019 trying to add an AVOD component to the platform. 

Walmart ultimately gave up on that plan a year later and sold Vudu to Comcast. 

Watching TV used to be our sanctuary from double-digit inflation and our cratering credit scores. Now, we can make our problems even worse from the comfort of our couch. 

Roku is leveraging its OpenView advertising platform and a new e-commerce partnership with Walmart to enable "shoppable" connected TV ads. 

Roku users, already signed up with Roku Pay to rent and purchase movies, as well as enable subscription streaming apps, will be able to buy select goods merely by selecting an "OK" menu item. Walmart will handle the fulfillment. 

“We’re making shopping on TV as easy as it is on social,” said Peter Hamilton, Head of TV commerce, Roku. “For years, streamers have purchased new Roku devices and signed up for millions of subscriptions with their Roku remote. Streaming commerce brings that same ease and convenience to marketers and shoppers.”

Added White, chief marketing officer for Walmart: “No one has cracked the code around video shoppability. By working with Roku, we’re the first to market retailer to bring customers a new shoppable experience and seamless checkout on the largest screen in their homes -- their TV.”

Tubular Labs, which analyzes social media, said it is now able to connect online and in-store pickup orders at Walmart with social video exposure.

Tubular was already tracking social video viewership’s impact on shopping behavior on Amazon. 

The new Walmart data enables Tubular Labs to monitor new product categories including dairy, frozen foods and beer and alcohol.

“Our Consumer Insights product already provided expansive, first-of-its-kind insights into how social video informs the consumer purchase journey on a granular level,” said Josh Schmiesing, CMO at Tubular Labs. “With social commerce exploding, Tubular’s Consumer Insights really collapses the funnel for marketers and draws that direct line -- from reach and engagement through conversion.”

For publishers, the addition of Walmart shopping behavior data provides additional touchpoints to Tubular Consumer Insights and increases the pool of advertisers interested in social video buying. 

Tubular has found that 45% of L’Oréal product buyers watched beauty content on social media before making a purchase, that 19% of Chobani buyers watched CNN on social media beforehand; and that audiences who watched Martha Stewart’s channel were 60 times more likely to buy chocolate chips and cocoa products. 

For clients, Tubular delivers metrics on shopping affinity, audience share, market share and relevance score.  ■

Roku already provides the TVOS for cheap smart TVs sold by Walmart under the big box retailer's "onn." brand in the U.S., both online and at 4,742 store locations. Now, you can buy Roku-enabled smart TVs in Canada, at 408 Walmart store locations and online.

With 55-inch 4K, Roku-powered sets selling for under $300 in the U.S., onn. is an important domestic lynchpin for Roku, which has nearly 90% of its more than 60 million active users positioned in America. 

Roku is also the No. 1 streaming OS in Canada, a market with slightly less saturation of streaming TV users, and which still holds growth potential for Roku. The streaming tech company needs to expand its user base outside the U.S. as much as it can. Yes, even in the Great White North. 

More consumers bringing home Roku-powered smart TVs means more Roku users, which also means more ad revenue for Roku. 

Also read: Roku (Not Surprisingly) Mulls Building Its Own Smart TVs

“We are excited to expand Roku’s presence in the TV market with the launch of onn. Roku TV in Walmart Canada stores,” said Marcin Lempka, director of business development for Roku. “Canadian consumers can enjoy all their favourite entertainment and more, conveniently on the onn. Roku TV, making for a more seamless experience. This is an accessible solution for Canadians looking to upgrade their TV without sacrificing quality.”

Added Mallory Craigmile, senior director of electronics at Walmart Canada. “Our partnership with Roku represents our continued commitment to providing our customers with the latest, must-have technology at low prices.”

With people more comfortable going into stores, television advertising for many major retailers was way up during the holiday season.

According to an analysis by Samba TV, Walmart, the top advertiser in the fourth quarter, increased its number of TV impressions by 20% from a year ago. 

Target’s impressions were 35%, Kohl’s grew 25% and Macy’s were up 34%, according to Samba TV.

Traditional retailers represented four of the top 10 advertisers during the fourth quarter. In addition to Walmart in the top slot, Target was No. 6, Kohl’s was No. 7 and Macy’s was eighth. 

Also: Ho Ho Ho! Holiday Programming Paid Off for Hallmark, NBC, Freeform

Walmart, Target and Macy’s did not rank in the top 10 during the third quarter.

Also breaking into the top five was Amazon. Amazon did not rank in the top five in the fourth quarter of 2020 despite the high volume of online shopping during the first COVID christmas, Samba TV noted. 

Some retailers focused on the Hispanic market. Target generated the most impressions advertising on Telemundo, followed by Univision. For Walmart, Univision and UniMás were the No. 2 and No. 3 networks in terms of impressions.

Looking just at the peak holiday season, between Black Friday and Christmas, retailers pulled out the stops when it came to TV advertising, Walmart, Target, Kohl’s and Macy’s all served more than 1.5 billion impressions, as did Amazon. 

Samba TV said Kohl’s did the best job in achieving reach while limiting frequency. The average household exposed to Kohl’s ad during the holidays saw 22 of them. Households that saw ads for Walmart saw 42 of them and households that saw Target ads saw 32 of them. Those retailers were more likely to reach oversaturation and annoy potential shoppers, Samba TV said.

“With the viewership landscape more fractured than it’s ever been, it’s never been more imperative for marketers to utilize a holistic view across both linear and streaming,” Samba TV VP of measurement Cole Strain said. “By leveraging Samba TV’s independent, first-party data set culled from 40-plus million devices marketers can truly understand their audience reach and true ROI.” ■

That didn’t take long. Seemingly hours after Squid Game became one of the biggest Netflix shows ever (and an uncomfortable metaphor for the lives of too many), the streaming company and Walmart announced a digital storefront featuring merchandise, some of it exclusive, from the horror/satire series and other big shows. 

“From chart-topping music and fashion to the hottest toys, digital platforms and streaming sites are now the pulse behind emerging trends,” Walmart executive VP of entertainment, toys and seasonal, Jeff Evans, wrote in a blog post announcing the deal. “At Walmart, we recognize the importance of bringing those trends directly to our customers and fast.”

Also read: 'Squid Game,' Netflix's Latest Inexplicable Hit (Review)

The new site’s offerings include a Funko Pop! doll of Henry Cavill’s imposing title character from The Witcher, as grim and non-doll-like a figure as one can imagine, but e-commerce wants what e-commerce wants. 

Other goodies among the 20 or so SKUs will include T-shirts from several shows, baking kits from food competition Nailed It,  a “Glow & go notebook” from girl power animated show Ada Twist, Scientist, and (confusingly for us veteran tech writers sensitive to distribution formats), a Walmart-exclusive “Bluetooth cassette player” branded with 1980s-set sci-fi hit Stranger Things. 

In a nice twist on interactive e-commerce, the site also includes a Netflix Fan Select tool, which allows site visitors to vote on which merchandise from which shows they’d like to see next. 

I sure know what I’d like to see: talking plush dolls of the zombie Elvis (and zombie tiger!) from Army of the Dead, a Joel Kinaman personality download disc for Takeshi Kovacs from Altered Carbon, and of course, dummy prop guns like the ones the Indian government required for crucial scenes in Extraction. 

Netflix isn’t anticipating making oodles of cash from its e-commerce ventures, any more than it says it will from its initial forays into video games (the company just bought its first game developer; and so that foray truly begins) or even virtual reality, like a traveling Army of the Dead immersive experience featuring that zombie tiger that debuted in four U.S. cities in September.

“The reason we’re doing them is to help the subscription service grow and be more important in people’s lives,” Netflix Co-CEO Reed Hastings told analysts on a recent call.

It’s not just Walmart jumping on the Netflix merch-wagon, of course. Other retailers are already selling various Netflix-related goodies, but cutting a deal with the world’s biggest brick-and-mortar retailer, including with some exclusive offerings, is probably a really good Idea. 

Other media companies have long been in the merch business. Disney, of course, has been milking the cross-promotional possibilities of its movies and TV shows since Walt held up his famous “washing machine” graphic back in the late 1950s, showing the intricate connections between his company’s many ventures. 

And just last week, NBC News and CNBC merged their two online stores, which should make it easier to track down that Jim Cramer hooded sweatshirt you’ve always jonesed for. 

Even more intriguingly, reports have surfaced in the days since Squid Game took off that clothing and gear from the movie, like those slip-on white sneakers, have become some of the hottest selling items in China, even though Netflix doesn’t legally distribute any programming there. Guess that Great Internet Wall isn’t quite as impregnable as Chinese authorities may believe. 

As for Squid Game itself, what are we to make of it? Hundreds of people in desperate financial straits agree to take part in a string of simple children’s games for money. Downside (and ever-so-slight spoiler)—if you lose, you’re dead. 

Some thumb-sucking columns have already taken to using the show’s brutal subject matter as a metaphor for the ferocious downsides of the winner-take-all capitalist/COVID-19 economy in many parts of the world far beyond the show’s home market of South Korea. 

Given that another South Korean product, Parasite, already won multiple Oscars and became a global hit for a somewhat similar class-struggle theme, I’m beginning to see a trend here. 

Of course, the real metaphor here isn’t so much the desperate economic straits faced by too many people around the world. To my mind, the series could more properly be a metaphor for all the shows on Netflix itself (not to mention its own employees, who face up-or-out reviews quarterly). 

Just imagine some hopeful if slightly desperate producer/writer/director/model/etc has a show they want to get made, seen worldwide, and paid for. They get a large financial offer they feel they must take, from a shadowy organization with little public accountability (at least from trans people) with global reach and relationships. 

In an homage to Faust (not a Netflix series, yet) and Robert Johnson’s visit with the devil down at the crossroads, the producer agrees to take a large-ish guaranteed upfront payment while forgoing any hope of syndication, international sales or true wealth if a show proves successful. Then the show itself arrives on Netflix and faces…well, either a quick death or global hit status. 

Fortunately, the outcome for Netflix producers isn’t quite at the level of The Player yet. But if all the big streaming companies get even more hungry for new shows, maybe Squid Game: The Producers will soon be on its way, with a merch store replete with logo directors chairs, show props, signed scripts, elevator pitches, and more. Quick! Call my agent!

Redbox, looking to become a bigger player in streaming, is being promoted on specially marked boxes containing Roku players sold exclusively at Walmart stores.

People who purchase the streaming devices will be able to get a $5 credit toward movie rentals when they download the Redbox app via their Roku player.

Redbox’s DVD rental kiosks are familiar features of many Walmart stories. Now Redbox is promoting its streaming service to Walmart shoppers and Roku users.

Also Read: Redbox Adds War and Westerns, Rewind to Roster of Free Streaming Channels

“Roku has been a great partner on this unique promotion, which gives us the ability to attract a large new audience to our streaming app,” said Galen Smith, CEO, Redbox. “We’ve been rapidly expanding our free streaming services, and I know consumers will find a lot of great content to enjoy.”

Redbox has been expanding its digital business since being acquired by Apollo Global Management in 2017. The company is in the process of going public through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company, with Apollo remaining a major shareholder.

Also Read: Redbox CEO Galen Smith: Why 40 Million ‘Late-Adopter’ Customers Will ‘Make the Digital Shift With Us’

The transition started with a transactional video-on-demand service, then began adding Redbox Originals in 2019.

In February 2020, Redbox Free Live TV launched. It has about 100 linear channels, including three with the Redbox brand, generating more than a million monthly active users. Redbox launched its free on demand service in December.

Roku started carrying the Redbox app in December 2017. Redbox’s free streaming television channels went live on The Roku Channel in June 2020.

The Roku promotion is designed to help consumers discover Redbox’s free streaming platforms.

Also Read: Redbox Adds to AVOD Library with Oscilloscope Labs Deal

In September, viewers will be able to stream for free Hunter Killer starring Gerard Butler and Gary Oldman, Enders Game starring Harrison Ford and Asa Butterfield, the classic Notre Dame football movie Rudy, hit drama Big Fish starring Ewan McGregor, and 90s teen romantic comedy Can’t Hardly Wait starring Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Comcast is working with Walmart and Chinese consumer electronics maker Hisense on a plan to distribute smart TVs powered by the cable operator's own OS. 

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, which adds a little meat to the previously reported initiative, these TVs could be available later this year. An earlier report suggested these TVs would be sold at Walmart stores under the big-box chain's "onn." brand. 

The project, internally known at Comcast's Philadelphia headquarters as "PlatCo," would enable the cable giant to feature its Peacock streaming service as a flagship property, much the way Amazon Prime Video is pole-positioned on Amazon Fire TV devices.

The cable operator would expand out of "footprint" for the first time, competing in the retail-driven connected TV device business with perhaps the most potent of all retailers, Walmart. 

"We're early days, but we're looking at smart TVs on a global basis, and we're wondering — can we bring our same tech stack for certain capabilities in aggregation to consumers who are relying more and more on smart TVs?," Comcast chief executive Brian Roberts told investors late last year. 

Before Peacock launched nationally, across connected TV device platforms and out of Comcast's footprint in July of 2020, the company tested the platform on its own subscribers, those who have Xfinity X1 and Flex devices in their homes. 

Comcast and its NBCUniversal division were reportedly thrilled with the advanced advertising results that came from being able to capture all data in a proprietary device ecosystem. 

Comcast hands out Flex devices for free to its broadband-only customers. These devices are powered by Xfinity Stream OS software. It's believed that Comcast is trying to proliferate this technology configuration, or some semblance of it, through the PlatCo partnership. 

Catching the likes of Roku, which touts nearly 54 million active users for its connected TV devices globally, won't be easy for Comcast and its PlatCo partners. 

That's one of the reasons why, according to WSJ, Comcast is considering the purchase of Roku.

For its part, Walmart is already competing with Roku and Amazon in the connected TV device business. Earlier this month, the chain debuted two new low-priced onn.-branded streaming devices powered by Google's Android TV OS.

Updated 6/9/2021: Pricing for the Roku Express 4K+ has returned to its normal $39.99 MSRP on Amazon and Walmart.com.

Original story starts here:

Roku has responded to Walmart’s aggressive entry into the connected TV device business, discounting its recently introduced Roku Express 4K+ to just $29.99. 

Roku introduced the low-priced 4K streaming player only a month ago with an MSRP of $39.99. 

Last week, however, Walmart—long a key destination for Roku at retail—made its own aggressive entry into the connected TV gadget business, introducing its own 4K-capable player, based Android TV, for $29.99.

Roku’s new low-priced OTT box supports HD, 4K, HDR, HDR 10 and HDR 10+. Equipped with a quad-core processor and dual-band WiFi capabilities, the Express 4K+ also includes a voice remote.

Notably, Roku also debuted a more bare-bones version of the Express 4K+ just for Walmart. The “Roku Express” comes with a basic IR remote, sans voice support the  and “plus,” and now retails at Walmart for $29.99 vs. its original $34.99 MSRP.

The price reduction comes at an inauspicious time for Roku’s hardware business. Roku’s “player” segment revenue was up 22% to $107.7 million in the first quarter, while its hardware segment’s profit was up 42% to $14.8 million.

But Roku advised investors during its Q1 call that chip shortages will eat into hardware profits for the remainder of the year resulting in “negative margins.”

Roku’s priority, however, remains fixated on platform distribution. Walmart remains one of its most important retail destinations. And Google’s Android TV platform is also one of its bigger competitive threats.  

For Roku, Amazon and other connected TV gadget makers, it’s game Onn. 

Walmart on Thursday quietly debuted two economy-priced, Android TV-powered streaming devices, both carrying the big box chain’s own "Onn" brand.

Priced at $29.98, the Onn “Android TV UHD Device” includes Dolby Audio capabilities, an HDMI cable, and not that many other frills, but it nicely undercuts the Roku Express 4K, a $35 device manufactured by Roku just for Walmart. 

Also making its debut is a $25 Onn-branded, Android TV-powered HD-only streaming stick, that seems to be out of stock right now. 

Both devices include the advantages of the Google Play Store in Android TV, which features every major SVOD and AVOD streaming app. And both devices include Google Assistant voice control through their respective remotes. 

The Onn-branded OTT devices had been spotted earlier, but the news here is that they’re now available.

Just as it was during the DVD era, Walmart is an important retail destination in the now streaming-focused video business. Precisely how influential Walmart is is hard to sketch out. But Roku said in 2019 that 73% of its sales are generated by three retail outlets: Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart. 

It’s not yet known if and how the two biggest connected TV gadget makers, Roku and Amazon, will adjust to Walmart entering the streaming gadget game, but we’re already seeing some flux among other tech manufacturers.

Xperi, which now owns TiVo, just started a new retail partnership for its TiVo Stream 4K with Target. Last year, Walmart was supporting the gadget, then priced at $50, with prime “end cap” store floor positioning. But now the TiVo Stream 4K is price-reduced by 40%, to $30, in order to liquidate remaining inventory at Walmart. And it's not featured in Walmart end caps anymore.

Asked about the TiVo Stream 4K’s ongoing fate Thursday, an Xperi rep told us that the device will be back … at Best Buy. 

Google's Android TV operating system remains the equivalent of Microsoft Windows in the OTT gadget game, and Walmart sells myriad lesser-known brands of connected TV players, dongles and sticks that are powered by the software. 

But with Walmart controlling its brick and mortar floor space, not to mention the search authority of its e-commerce operation, it’s tough to predict whether all of these “off” brand devices will find enough oxygen to survive. 

The potential impact on Google is interesting, too.

Google introduced its own streaming device running on an enhanced version of Android TV, called Google TV, last October. The new Onn gadgets would seem to undercut the $50 Chromecast with Google TV. But Google’s real end game is proliferating its OS across as many devices is it can over the next few years in its efforts to catch up to Roku and Amazon.

Having a retailer with 4,743 brick-and-mortar locations in the U.S. alone enticed to push out Android TV devices is certainly good for Google's business.

Despite reports of its demise, Xperi said it’s not done selling the TiVo Stream 4K device. But there's definitely a shift in retail strategy happening for this connected TV HDMI dongle. 

Now selling at the clearance-level price of $29.99, the streaming device appears to be exiting its previous go-to retail hub, Walmart, and is now taking up shop at Target. 

Last week, Wolfpoint Group, a company that helps retailers including Target launch new wares, announced that its client is launching the “TiVo 4K streamer product.” The TiVo Stream 4K is currently available at Target for $29.99, discounted from its previous $49.99 MSRP.

(This announcement surfaced when influential technology writer David Zatz, a longtime TiVo observer, noticed that the TiVo Stream 4K seems to be getting phased out of Walmart and Best Buy, drawing the ire of a Wolfpoint Group rep.)

Featured in prime Walmart “endcap” in-store locations last year, shortly after its April 2020 launch, the TiVo Stream 4K does seem to be getting superseded at America’s biggest big box store by Walmart’s own, new Onn-branded Android TV streaming device, which is also priced to move at $30. And the Stream 4K isn't even available at Best Buy, a longtime go-to destination for TiVo DVRs. (A TiVo rep told Next TV Thursday that the company is still selling products at Best Buy, but it is "in the process of switching from a third-party vendor to a direct sales relationship.")

The Target announcement comes amid overall confusion over TiVo Stream 4K’s fate. 

In early May, TiVo’s new parent company, Xperi, said that it was pivoting away from Android TV, the software that TiVo Stream 4K is based on, with Google now also planning to use the OS as a foundation for its own search-and-recommendation UX overlay software, Google TV. 

Xperi said its plan now is to deploy the TiVo Stream 4K software, sans Android TV, as a smart TV OEM operating system, competing with Roku and Google TV. 

“What has changed is last fall, Google came out and said that they intend to go beyond their core OS level offering and really get into the UX business, and in so doing, it eclipses one’s ability to think [they can] reasonably be an alternative that might otherwise live on their lower level platform,” said Xperi CEO John Kirchner to equity research analysts during Xperi’s first-quarter earnings call on May 5. 

A number of folks in the tech media interpreted that to mean that Xperi is pivoting away from its TiVo Stream 4K HDMI dongle—a read certainly not undermined when Xperi cut the price of existing inventory by 40%.

Xperi reps didn’t immediately respond to Next TV’s inquiry for clarity on the TiVo Stream 4K go-to-market strategy. However, the company told TechHive last month that new iterations of the TiVo Stream 4K device are on the way, and that Xperi is still making TiVo Stream 4K hardware “and will continue to do so.”

Walmart appears poised to debut a $30, Android TV-powered 4K/HDR streaming device that will undercut incumbents Roku and Amazon.

Last week, a gadget eerily similar to Google’s ADT-3—a device the tech giant hands out to Android TV software developers—briefly surfaced on Walmart.com (where it was spotted by 9to5Google.) The device, which carried Walmart’s Onn brand, was listed as “out of stock,” and it’s no longer listed on Walmart’s landing page. 

But priced at $29.88, the brief appearance of the Onn Android TV UHD Streaming Device was notable, in that it undercut the latest Roku entry-level 4K streaming gadget, a budget-priced iteration of which is specifically packaged for Walmart shelves. 

The just-introduced Roku Express 4K, a Walmart exclusive, ditches the voice remote found in the widely available Roku Express 4K+ and has a discounted MSRP of $35.99. That’s $5 cheaper than the $39.99 Express 4K+, but $5 more than the new Onn-branded 4K/HDR gadget. 

Walmart, which has broad-reaching competitive issues with Amazon, sells Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K for $57.60.

Google’s 4K/HDR-capable Chromecast with Google TV is available via Walmart for $50. 

Two months ago, it surfaced via FCC documents that Walmart is also looking to undercut the major connected TV device incumbents for sub-$20 HD-only streaming sticks and dongles, with the pending introduction of an Onn-branded HDMI stick, also based on Google’s Android TV OS.

Last year, Walmart committed end caps and other valuable in-store promotional resources to another Android TV-powered streaming gadget, the TiVo Stream 4K. But last week, TiVo’s parent company, Xperi, said it was shifting its streaming tech strategy, pivoting away from Android TV gadgets and into smart TV OS, following Google’s decision to get into the OTT device business itself with the new Google TV OS. 

And late last year, Walmart began selling another 4K device based on Google’s ADT-3, this one under the brand name Dynalink. Initially, Walmart promotionally priced the 4K/HDR-capable OTT device, which is based on Android 10, with a quad-core processor, 2GB of DDR3 memory and a single HDMI port, at $29.95, $20 off the regular MSRP of $49.95. Walmart is currently selling the Dynalink Android TV Box at that regular $50 list price. 

Walmart was a major force amid the height of the DVD and Blu-ray business during aughts. In fact, it was the top mover of discs and disc players in the U.S at that time. 

It makes sense that it will want to establish itself in the streaming gadget business, and not just because its archival, Amazon, already has. 

Consumers looking to cut the cord for under 20 bucks will have yet another cheap hardware option, according to recently unearthed FCC documents. 

Walmart is readying an HD-only streaming stick that will be sold under its Onn brand and powered by Android TV, the documents reveal. 

The “2K” resolution indicated by the filing suggests the device will be inexpensive, given that 4K connected TV devices typically sell for $25 or more. 

Walmart has been a key destination for video technology, dating back to the profitable DVD market in the early aughts. More recently, TiVo negotiated coveted “endcap” space on Walmart store floors to launch its Android TV-powered Stream 4K device. 

And in November, it was revealed that Google had entered into an OEM relationship with a company called Dynalink to sell OTT players at Walmart based on the ADT-3, a 4K/HDR-capable OTT device based on Android 10, with a quad-core processor, 2GB of DDR3 memory and a single HDMI port. Google provides this device to Android TV developers to help them come up with apps.  

Walmart has also been reportedly talking to Comcast about making the cable operator’s Xfinity Flex platform the OS engine that powers inexpensive, Onn-branded smart TVs. Those discussions were first reported in early November and have been breathlessly parroted in publications like this one ever since. Comcast has spoken numerous times about expanding the horizons for Flex, which currently has 3 million users within the Comcast footprint. But those Walmart talks haven’t come up specifically. 

Roku is taking the price of going over the top below $20, pricing its limited-edition HD-only Roku SE streaming device at an industry-low $17 and selling it exclusively at Walmart on Black Friday. 

Introduced in 2019, the Roku SE is an entry-level streaming device similar in profile to the Roku Express HD, only bigger, and it comes in white instead of black. It lacks features like an Ethernet port, which is useful for those who want to avoid the pangs of spotty WiFi. 

Indeed, like popular Breaking Bad pizza delivery chain Venezia’s, which famously didn’t cut its pies, Roku passes the savings onto you. 

It should be noted that Roku’s competitors having been doing this ultra-low pricing limbo, too, with sticks and dongles: Amazon’s HD-only Fire TV Stick, for example, is currently priced at $13.99. And there are a bunch of OEM versions of Google’s Chromecast HDMI dongle priced at $20 and below at and on Walmart. 

But having Roku, currently the biggest hardware brand in streaming, go below 20 bucks is notable.

Roku is also giving pricing haircuts to other devices for Black Friday:

> The Roku Premiere, normally $39.99, will be on sale for $24.99 from Nov. 20-30 directly from Roku, or from Walmart, Best Buy and Amazon.

> The Roku Streaming Stick+, normally $49.99, will be priced at $29.99 directly from Roku, or from Best Buy and Amazon. 

> The high-end Roku Ultra, regularly $99.99, will be priced at $69.99, directly from Roku, or from Walmart, Best Buy or Amazon.

> And the recently introduced Roku Streambar will go for $99.99 after launching at $129.99, directly from Roku, or from Best Buy or Amazon. (Notably, the price to purchase a smart sound bar with Roku circuitry was $170 just a few months ago, before Roku introduced a cheaper second-generation smart soundbar model.)

Roku is also charging 99 cents for two months of Showtime and Starz premium channel subscriptions through the Roku Channel.

Also read: Roku ARPU Surges 20% in Q3 While Active Users Hit 46 Million

These are heady days for Roku, which saw its market capitalization zoom past $30 billion this week (it stands at over $32.5 billion as of midday trading Thursday). 

During a bullish third-quarter earnings call last week, Roku reported that “player” revenue, which is the money Roku makes from selling streaming boxes and sticks, and licensing its OS to smart TV makers, was up 62% to $132.4 million.

But just as it is for competitors Amazon and Google, Roku’s real objective is to proliferate its operating system, which as it also revealed, had 46 million active users worldwide as of the end of September.

As it moves to a number like, say, 100 million active users, Roku investors are pondering a near future in which the company has extensive control over distribution to streaming content, much the way Apple App Store and Google Play control the mobile app world. 

“If the platform provider can capture a large enough global scale of consumers who are essentially using it as a bundling agent—as an intermediary—then they’re going to have market power over the suppliers of the content, and they will emerge to use that market power to get a pricing or access differentiator, and they’ll build a business based on it. I think the reason you see so much market cap flowing to Roku right now is because they seem to have developed an independent separate public company platform that is becoming essentially a channel store of scale,” Liberty Global Chairman John Malone said at a Paley Center virtual event last week. 

One way to achieve that market is to undercut Amazon and Google at Walmart over Black Friday on streaming devices. 

Last year, in order to help developers build and test apps for Android TV, Google introduced the ADT-3, a 4K/HDR-capable OTT device based on Android 10, with a quad-core processor, 2GB of DDR3 memory and a single HDMI port. 

Google made the device available to developers through an OEM partner. The technology giant now appears to have made the ADT-3 available to consumers under the brand name Dynalink, too. And Walmart is selling it for $29.99, which is $20 off the $49.99 list price)

The Dynalink device touts support for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus and YouTube on its box. The remote has shortcut buttons to Netflix and YouTube, as well as Google Play, the app store staple of Android TV/Google TV. Notably, the device includes microUSB, which lets it draw power from the USB port on a TV instead of a wall outlet. 

For Google, this would appear to undermine its recently released Chromecast with Google TV, a $49.99 HDMI dongle that runs a newer version of Android TV rechristened as “Google TV.”

However, Google’s strategy in regard to Android TV/Google TV seems to be more focused on proliferation of the OS rather than the establishment of its own thriving hardware business. 

Comcast has reportedly had “preliminary” talks with Walmart about building smart TVs based on the cable company’s X1 video platform and selling them in the retailer’s stores. 

Comcast is not confirming the news, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal and later corroborated by Variety and several other outlets. 

Walmart released this statement: “We’re constantly having conversations with current and new suppliers about innovation and new products we can bring to our customers, and we don’t share details of those discussions.”

Also read: Comcast’s Roberts: ‘We’re Looking at Smart TVs on a Global Basis’ for X1

Comcast’s upper management has made it known at recent investor events their interest in expanding X1’s footprint. Comcast has built a successful white label licensing business for X1, letting other cable companies use the technology—Cox Communications here in the U.S., and Rodgers Communications, Shaw Communications and Videotron in Canada. 

Comcast further expanded X1's reach last year, when it transitioned the OS to a thin client set-box it calls Xfinity Flex and made it available for free to its broadband-only customers. 

But increasingly, living room TVs in North America are dominated by Roku and Amazon, which control 38% and 33% of the connected TV market in the U.S., respectively, according to Parks Associates data. 

Controlling the device ecosystem is important to Comcast, which is now supporting two major streaming platforms, Peacock and AVOD service Xumo. Not only does Comcast want direct access to the viewer data on those platforms, it wants to be able to monetize them directly through advanced adverting. That’s much easier for Comcast to do when the transom is X1 than it is with Roku or Amazon Fire TV. 

Speaking to investors last month, Comcast CEO Brian Robert said, “We’re wondering, can we bring our same tech stack or certain capabilities in aggregation to consumers who are relying more and more on smart TVs? We’ve done that with X1 when we syndicated it to Canada and to other operators in the United States. And we see a similar road map possibly for that.”

TiVo now has perhaps the most powerful partner in the retail business in its quest to quickly establish itself in the consumer streaming market. 

Over the weekend, tech blog ZatzNotFunny spotted an end cap at Walmart promoting the $49.99 TiVo Stream 4K. This kind of high-profile shelf space is a notable achievement for TiVo, which established its DVRs as a retail brand two decades ago but has largely succeeded in serving the business-to-business software market in recent years. 

for one thing, the end caps signal, site operator David Zatz noted, that TiVo still has "skilled folks around able to work such a deal."

Also read: TiVo Stream 4K: Everything You Need to Know About the New Android TV-Based Dongle

The TiVo Stream 4K also promoted in Walmart’s current 14-page weekly circular. 

Touting 265 million weekly customer visits across its approximately 11,500 stores, Walmart remains a powerful force in the video business, 15 years after it led the explosion of DVD purchasing. 

Now controlled by electronics company Xperi after a $3 billion merger consummated earlier this year, TiVo is once again prioritizing retail in its quest to establish itself in the connected TV device market dominated by Roku and Amazon … and soon, Google, from which TiVo licenses the Android TV operating system that powers its Stream 4K HDMI dongle. 

TiVo hasn’t released any sales data for its new OTT dongle, which debuted over the spring. Even with brisk sales, however, profits are probably negligible, with the company originally aiming to sell the device $79.99. 

Indeed, that hackneyed phrase “streaming wars” might better apply to the connected TV device game vs. the suddenly cluttered SVOD side of the business, with Amazon and Google able to sustain heavy losses on their devices in their quest to establish their respective platforms. 

Amazon just introduced an HD-only “Lite" version of its Fire TV Stick, which it prices at $29.99--on par with Roku's base HDMI stick. Google is about to transition its Chromecast HDMI dongle to run Android TV. The new “Chromecast with Android TV” is set to debut at locations including Walmart as early as this week, also with a $49.99 price tag. 

While Xperi Holdings might not tolerate sustained losses on consumer-grade streaming hardware, TiVo has assets to work with. 

For one, its software chops give it a head start in marketing the holy grail for streaming platforms—that is, the ability to aggregate content from multiple streaming apps into one location, thus simplifying the basic consumer task of quickly and easily finding something to watch. 

Notably, on its Walmart end cap, TiVo runs the banner, “No more app-switching. You entertainment on one screen.”

TiVo continues to iterate and develop the Stream software that overlays Android TV on its devices. It most recently announced the native integration of the Locast app into Stream. That means that every time you initiate the device, you don’t have to toggle over to the Locast app to find out what’s on your local broadcast stations. If Stream’s algorithms detect something you might like, it’ll surface in the main Stream app.

Of course, TiVo has a long way to go before Stream has native integration of enough major apps to turn it into a true one-stop location. It also has a long way to go before it challenges Roku in device sales--Roku just refreshed its product line Monday and is touting 43 million active users. 

But TiVo has even more things up its sleeve down the line. For instance, the under-told upside to its recent merger is Xperi’s strong connection to the smart TV OEM world, which is useful for TiVo’s quest to develop smart TV’s powered by Stream 4K. 

And then, of course, there’s Walmart.

TV measurement and attribution company 605 said it signs an agreement with Walmart, which will use insights from the 605 Platf0rm to enhance its TV planning and analytics capabilities.

Walmart has worked with 605 to generate insights into the audiences and impact of Walmart’s linear ad campaigns. Under the new deal, 605 will work with Walmart to generate additional analytics about its advertising.

“605 has been an outstanding collaborator with Walmart and their data and analytics solutions have proven very effective at helping achieve new insights and measurement capabilities on our investments in television advertising,” said Tom Tang, VP of marketing analytics at Walmart. “We are excited to augment our capabilities with 605 Platf0rm and begin utilizing their technology."

The 605 Platf0rm is a web-based application for advanced measurement and analysis of TV programs and commercials across linear, over-the-air, DVR and set-top-box VOD.

605 Platf0rm users can select, activate and target first- or third-party audience segments or datasets while protecting customers’ personal information. Clients can bring their own digital content and ad campaign data for additional cross-screen insights, planning and attribution capabilities.

“Walmart is widely recognized for their efforts to attract consumers across all of their brands with a focus on providing value and choice,” said Kristin Dolan, CEO and founder of 605. "We are excited to work more closely with their marketing and advertising teams to explore the opportunities of overlaying Walmart’s deep understanding of their customers with our deterministic dataset of more than 21 million U.S. households.”

Walmart on Tuesday announced a new service offering, Walmart+, that designed to compete—even undercut—Amazon’s popular Prime service.

For $98 a year, Walmart+ will offer members free shipping on orders of $35 or more, covering more than 160,000 items. There’s a self-service checkout option using a smart phone app that will benefit members when they do venture out to Walmart stores. And Walmart+, which undercuts the $119-a-year Amazon Prime on price, delivers a 5-cents-per-gallon break on gas at Walmart stations. 

One of the big questions about the new service offering: Will Walmart+ include a video component, a la Amazon Prime Video, to draw users to the platform?

Presently, Walmart has partnered with Microsoft on a joint bid to acquire Chinese short-form video platform TikTok. Walmart and Microsoft are bidding against Oracle. Analysts peg the sales price to ultimately come in between $20 billion - $30 billion. 

Notably, Walmart sold its transactional video platform, Vudu, to Comcast’s Fandango division back in April. Vudu would have seemed like a logical starting point to build a multi-faceted video platform, a la Amazon Prime Video, that encompasses everything from SVOD to AVOD to transactional channels.  Walmart also has strong ties to content channels dating back to its leading position as a DVD retailer in the aughts. 

Speaking during a press call Monday, Janey Whiteside, Walmart's chief customer officer,.called Walmart+ “the ultimate life hack.”

For now, at least, analysts seem underwhelmed by the program

"My sense is they are going to do a bit more to entice people into this, because as it stands it's not a bad program but it's not a great program," Neil Saunders, an analyst at research firm GlobalData, told CNET. "When you look at Amazon Prime, it's just light-years ahead.”

Walmart+, Saunders added, also faces the wind drag of “subscription fatigue caused by more established services like Amazon Prime, Netflix and Spotify, which already have inroads to consumer credit cards. 

“For a $35 minimum and $98 annual fee, this is a thin gruel,” said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a retail research and consulting firm, to the New York Times. 

TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, is reportedly close to selling the short-form video company’s Western operations to a U.S. company, with Oracle bidding against a joint effort from Walmart and Microsoft to pay a sales price said to range from $20 billion to $30 billion. 

The news comes as TikTok’s recently appointed CEO, former Disney DTC chief Kevin Mayer, abruptly stepped down late Wednesday.

TikTok: Everything You Need to Know About the Hottest Video App in America

“The way TikTok has integrated e-commerce and advertising capabilities in other markets is a clear benefit to creators and users in those markets,” Walmart said in a statement sent to CNBC. “We believe a potential relationship with TikTok U.S. in partnership with Microsoft could add this key functionality and provide Walmart with an important way for us to reach and serve omnichannel customers as well as grow our third-party marketplace and advertising businesses. We are confident that a Walmart and Microsoft partnership would meet both the expectations of U.S. TikTok users while satisfying the concerns of U.S. government regulators.”

Oracle, meanwhile, is reportedly also in the running to acquire TikTok’s U.S., Canadian, Australian and New Zealand operations from Chinese parent company ByteDance. The Trump Administration is said to be favoring Oracle’s bid. Notably, Oracle founder Larry Ellison is a Trump supporter, even conducting a fundraiser for him at his home.

According to the Wall Street Journal, ByteDance’s U.S. investors, which include Sequoia Capital and General Atlantic, also favor Oracle, as they see the Silicon Valley company as their best bet to get a “piece of the action” from TikTok’s ongoing operations. 

All of this activity has occurred after Trump declared TikTok, which has more than 100 million monthly active users, a domestic security threat. His executive order earlier this month mandates that the platform be sold to a U.S. company by Sept. 15 or be shut down. 

This week, for example, ByteDance filed suit against the Trump Administration, pushing back on one of the executive orders banning transactions by U.S. companies with ByteDance by U.S. companies.

As companies wishing to buy TikTok face a deadline to submit bids, it’s still unclear if ByteDance actually plans to sell the company.

For his part, however, Mayer is out, just over two months after departing Disney to lead TikTok. Vanessa Pappas, the head of TikTok’s U.S. business, will run TikTok, the company said in an internal memo to employees.

Also read: Ex-Disney Exec Mayer Leaving TikTok

“Since joining, I have been incredibly impressed with the team and the company. In recent weeks, as the political environment has sharply changed, I have done significant reflection on what the corporate structural changes will require, and what it means for the global role I signed up for,” Mayer said in a memo to staff Thursday. 

“Against this backdrop, and as we expect to reach a resolution very soon, it is with a heavy heart that I wanted to let you all know that I have decided to leave the company,” Mayer said. “I want to be clear that this decision has nothing to do with the company, what I see in our future, or the believe I have in what we are building,” Mayer added. 

Comcast has moved forward with the purchase of video transactional service Vudu from Walmart.

Terms of the deal weren’t announced.

Officially, Comcast’s Fandango movie-ticket-selling business, operated through NBCUniversal, is making the purchase. Fandango previously competed in the business of renting and selling digital movie and TV shows through its four-year-old FandangoNow brand. FandangoNow was created after Fandango purchased digital movie seller M-Go from Technicolor in 2016.

Visit Next TV to read more stories like this one. 

In December, Fandango announced that FandangoNow had 60 million monthly visitors checking out its catalog of more than 100,000 film and television titles.

Vudu was launched back in 2004 and purchased by Walmart in 2010.

Related: NBCU in Advanced Talks to Acquire Walmart's Vudu: Report

Fandango said it will maintain a Vudu office in the Sunnyvale, California and keep current Vudu staff in place. On its website, Vudu reassured users that their past purchases will remain safe and accessible, and existing usernames and passwords will still work.

Walmart said Vudu is available on 100 million OTT devices and that its mobile app has had more than 14 million downloads.

Walmart, which profited from the popularity of DVD and Blu-ray in the aughts, has struggled over the last few years to figure out a direction for Vudu. Over the last few years, it pondered the creation of a subscription streaming product, and it moved forward with building out an original content production arm—the remake of the 1980s Michael Keaton movie Mr. Mom was the seminal effort of that initiative.

Comcast, meanwhile, is moving fast into the digital video business, launching new SVOD platform Peacock on X1 and Flex pay TV services last week, and purchasing AVOD platform Xumo in February.

Comcast has moved forward with the purchase of video transactional service Vudu from Walmart.

Terms of the deal weren’t announced.

Officially, Comcast’s Fandango movie-ticket-selling business, operated through NBCUniversal, is making the purchase. Fandango previously competed in the business of renting and selling digital movie and TV shows through its four-year-old FandangoNow brand. FandangoNow was created after Fandango purchased digital movie seller M-Go from Technicolor in 2016. 

In December, Fandango announced that FandangoNow had 60 million monthly visitors checking out its catalog of more than 100,000 film and television titles. 

Vudu was launched back in 2004 and purchased by Walmart in 2010. 

Also read: NBCU in Advanced Talks to Acquire Walmart's Vudu: Report

For now, Fandango said it will maintain a Vudu office in the Sunnyvale, Calif. and keep current Vudu staff in place. On its website, Vudu reassured users that their past purchases will remain safe and accessible,  and existing usernames and passwords will still work. 

Walmart says Vudu is available on 100 million OTT devices and that its mobile app has had more than 14 million downloads.

Walmart, which profited from the popularity of DVD and Blu-ray in the aughts, has struggled over the last few years to figure out a direction for Vudu. Over the last few years, it pondered the creation of a subscription streaming product, and it moved forward with building out an original content production arm—the remake of the 1980s Michael Keaton movie Mr. Mom was the seminal effort of that initiative.  

Comcast, meanwhile, is moving fast into the digital video business, launching new SVOD platform Peacock on X1 and Flex pay TV services last week, and purchasing AVOD platform Xumo in February.

Walmart’s digital video service, Vudu, said it ordered eight episodes of Legacy, a docu-series from Whistle executive produced by recently retired basketball star Dwyane Wade that follows the children of famous athletes.

Legacy will follow Wade’s son Zaire, a Division I high school senior basketball prospect, as well as Vashti Cunningham, an Olympic hopeful in track and field who is the daughter of former NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham, and Evan and Elijah Holyfield, sons former heavyweight boxing champ Evander Holyfield. One of the sons, Evan, is pursuing boxing; the other is going in a different direction.

Other athletes and their offspring will be in the series also.

“I’m proud to executive produce Legacy and bring my son’s unique athletic journey to other aspiring young athletes,” said Dwyane Wade. “I hope this docuseries leaves viewers feeling inspired through showing the hard work and dedication needed to turn your dreams into reality.”

The series will be available exclusively on Vudu this year. Last year, Vudu original programming included Mr. Mom and Adventure Force 5.

“Legacy is a part of Vudu’s commitment to invest in creating premium and compelling original content for families to enjoy together,” said Jeremy Verba, VP and general manager of Vudu. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with Whistle and Dwyane Wade, and bring this motivational series to life.”

Legacy will be directed by Emmy Award winner Jonathan Hock and Mark Ciardiwill serve as an executive producer. This marks the second project Hock and Ciardi signed onto with Whistle.  Legacy was developed by Mike Basone, Whistle’s VP of development, premium originals, and he will also serve as an executive producer on the project.

Creative Artists Agency brokered and packaged the deal on behalf of clients Whistle and Dwyane Wade. Additionally, the marketing and production company Tiny Horse will executive produce.

“We are thrilled to partner with Vudu to create premium content that harbors family values consistent with Whistle’s brand,'' said Dominic Ianno, executive and head of Whistle’s growth and new initiatives group and executive producer on the project. “We have assembled a stellar team to bring these stories to life and provide a source of inspiration for adolescents as they face the daunting task of making decisions that will impact their futures.”

Vudu, Walmart’s video service, is launching two new programs Thursday designed to ensure viewers have a positive experience and get the lowest price on rentals.

Under Vudu’s Rental Price Match program, customers can call Vudu if they rent a video from Vudu or Digital Video by Vudu and subsequently discover a lower price offered by either Amazon or iTunes. 

Vudu will match the lower rental price and give the customer the difference in credit toward a future Vudu rental or purchase.

Customers can also get a “redo” if they decide before going past the 30-minute mark of their rental that they don’t like what they’re watching. Those unhappy viewers will get a credit towards another rental from Vudu or Video by Vudu. Customers are limited to four redo credits a month.

Both of Vudu’s new customer programs aim to further Vudu’s mission to provide their customers with the best possible viewing experience, with unmatched customer service, the company said.

Vudu will also offer weekly rental promotions ranging from discounts to free rentals to encourage consumers to watch more videos from Vudu.

NEW YORK — There was data, data everywhere at the Digital NewFronts as digital media companies aimed to convince advertisers to spend more on sponsoring streaming programming.

Broadcast and cable networks have been looking to use data to more precisely target ad campaigns as TV viewing shrinks and commercials get more expensive. But NewFront presenters said they have better information about viewers and their networks are addressable, making them able to send the right messages to the right consumers.

Among the presenters at last week’s gatherings were giant retailers Walmart and Target, both of which are looking to boost media businesses based on data they gather from the people who shop in their stores.

“We invite you to leverage our first-part shopper data by delivering highly relevant and accountable advertising,” Walmart Media Group general manager Stefanie Jay said. “We know how people shop on an unparalleled scale.”

Vudu Adds Originals

At its presentation, Walmart said it was adding original series programming to its on-demand, ad-supported video service Vudu. It said it would be the first to show the new version of Blue’s Clues, even before Nickelodeon, and would have series featuring actress Evangeline Lilly and produced by Queen Latifah.

During the shows, Vudu will be running a limited number of commercials. It also runs shoppable ads, which pop up on the screen, can be clicked on with a remote control and are directly connected to the viewer’s Walmart.com account.

More importantly, Walmart knows what its viewers buy and can tell an advertiser if an ad campaign resulted in more of their product being bought in Walmart stores or at Walmart.com. And soon, advertisers will be able to use Walmart data to buy ads and evaluate campaigns on other over-the-top networks.

Target told a similar story. The retailer last week renamed its media business Roundel.

Roundel will send “the right ad to the right people at the right time on the right channels, whether that be on our Target platforms or off platform with other publishers,” said Kristi Argyilan, president of Roundel.

“We’re not just operating a retail media network,” Argyilan said, adding that Roundel is putting marketer messages into non-Target channels, including display, social, audio or even linear TV, based on shopper data.

YouTube pointed to its huge number of users and said the engagement it generates helps advertisers sell products. Alan Thygersen, president, Americas, for Google, pointed to statistics showing that YouTube was able to generate incremental reach for campaigns with much lower frequency levels than TV. Google Preferred campaigns also generate great sales per impression than TV.

As a result, “we should all be allocating a lot more to YouTube,” Thygersen told media buyers and clients attending its Brandcast.

YouTube said its originals, including Karate Kid sequel Cobra Kai, would all have ad-support windows where they’re not behind a paywall.

Viewer Data on Display

Hulu also showed off how much it knows about its viewers. Research head Jaya Kolhatkar said nearly 50% of ad-supported hours of viewing on Hulu are spent binge-watching and 40% of Hulu viewers binge more than one series each month.

Naturally, Hulu is creating an ad format designed to appear when viewers are binging shows. Binge ads are personalized and a sponsor could offer to let the viewer see the next episode of a show they’re watching without ads.

Hulu ad sales head Peter Naylor said that Hulu’s 58 million ad-supported viewers include 21 million cord-cutters and cord-nevers that can’t be reached via traditional TV.

“Now’s the time to shift even more of your budget to Hulu,” Naylor said.

Viacom apparently feels that if you can’t beat them, join them. It has been building up its digital offering, capped this year with the acquisition of ad-supported Pluto TV. Viacom is adding 14 new channels to Pluto TV, based on brands like Comedy Central and BET.

By putting its content on new platforms, Viacom will again be able to help marketers reach growing number of young viewers who have cut the cord with traditional TV. With Pluto TV, Viacom expects to grow its number of digital impressions per month to 5 billion by next year.

“We have made incredible strides over the past year due to our acquisitions and expansion to grow our digital reach significantly to the direct benefit of our advertising partners,” Viacom head of ad solutions Sean Moran said. “With more touchpoints than ever before, we look forward to leveraging the full scale and power of Viacom to help our clients create real, authentic connections with our highly coveted and hard-to-reach young audiences wherever they are.”

MARINA DEL REY, Calif.— With Walmart’s Vudu platform making ad-supported streaming a priority, Lionsgate says its AVOD revenue has doubled in one year.

While Walmart announced plans two months ago to boost its two-year-old ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) platform, Vudu Movies on Us, with original shows and movies, the chain’s studio partners are already reporting an uptick in business.

Speaking at the Parks Associates’ Future of Video conference, Thomas Hughes, executive VP of worldwide TV & digital distribution for Lionsgate, said that his studio has seen a doubling of AVOD revenue in just the last year. Hughes wouldn’t disclose specific numbers. But Walmart has been the biggest home entertainment sell-through distribution partner for Lionsgate and other studios dating back to the DVD era.

Related: Walmart Partnering with MGM to Boost Vudu with Originals: Report

In recent years, Walmart has built up its Vudu platform as a key online store to rent and buy movies and TV shows digitally. The retail giant is now building the somewhat recently launched AVOD component of Vudu, called Movies on Us, recently partnering with MGM to develop a episodic series based on the 1980s movie Mr. Mom.

So why is Walmart leaning into AVOD?

“Most households don’t have Netflix,” explained Julian Franco, head of AVOD for Vudu, noting that the SVOD giant’s 117 million U.S. subscribers don’t account for even half of American households.

According to Franco, Walmart’s “Watch for Falling Prices” ethos, which inspires cost-conscious Middle American consumers to seek prosperity through lower-priced purchasing, has reached the streaming age. Consumers, he told the Future of Media audience, are simply bombarded with too many subscription streaming services.

“We have 150 million people coming into our stores. And they’ve told us they’ll watch ads in order to save money on video.”

Specifically, Walmart conducted a survey of its customers in coordination with NPD Group several years ago. The findings, that consumers will accept a certain amount of advertising to once again watch video without a subscription cost, seem to conflict with recent conventional wisdom — that TV watchers are done with commercials.

Franco said Movies on Us ads are strategically placed, and do not saturate the programming in the same way commercials do on linear TV.

Launched in 2016, Movies on Us currently offers around 3,125 older movie titles. It also has 262 full seasons of TV shows.

In October, research company eMarketer published a report estimating that U.S. ad spending on digital video will grow about 30% this year to $27.82 billion.

After largely neglecting its digital movie and TV transactional platform, Vudu, since acquiring it 2010, Walmart is trying to make up ground and become a relevant playing in video streaming.

According to reports in AdAge and Bloomberg, Walmart is in discussion with HBO, Showtime, Starz and operators of other OTT platforms, looking at the possibility that Vudu might broker these platforms through Vudu.

Walmart isn’t confirming this. The reports come a week after Walmart announced a deal with MGM to produce original content for Vudu’s ad-supported free-to-consumer sub-platform, Movies On Us, with the first title being a remake of the 1983 MGM film “Mr. Mom.”

Amid that announcement, it was widely reported that Walmart was going to eschew earlier thoughts on entering the subscription video on demand market.

Related: Walmart Partnering with MGM to Boost Vudu with Originals: Report

With Netflix, Amazon and Hulu owning a stranglehold on the SVOD market, and little unclaimed customer share available in markets like North America, Walmart might be wise to hold off on that one.

However, Amazon alone has carved out a niche in brokering ready-made platforms like HBO Now and CBS All Access through its Channels marketplace. Anecdotal buzz about Channels has been solid, and Amazon executives—and their content parters—rave about the performance of the marketplace. Still, Amazon—which claimed around 160 Channels content partners over the spring—hasn’t released much in the way of concrete sales and customer metrics for Channels, creating the impression that there might be plenty of room in the a la carte distribution market for a player like Walmart.

Certainly, as the largest DVD retailer during the heyday of the disc format, Walmart has the relationships it needs with media companies. And it appears to be tapping those. According to AdAge, Vudu has finally begun reporting to Scott McCall, the executive in charge of Walmart’s entertainment business at its Bentonville, Ark. headquarters.

It was all the way back in 2010 that Walmart acquired Vudu, an online destination to rent and buy digital movie and TV shows. Walmart’s last major announcement for Vudu, before the MGM original content deal, was the creation of Movies on Us back in 2016.

Walmart is set to announce a partnership with MGM to produce original content for the big box store’s Vudu transactional platform, according to Reuters.

The news service said Walmart will make the announcement Wednesday during a presentation at the Newfronts West event in Los Angeles.

The "family-friendly" content will be focused to Walmart’s consumer base—that is, folks not living in major cities. The report didn’t specify what Walmart will be paying for the content. But it did say the shows will reside within Vudu’s Movies on Us sub-platform, the free-to-consumer, advertising video on demand (AVOD) portion of Vudu that includes mostly archival movie titles.

“Under this partnership, MGM will create exclusive content based on their extensive library of iconic IP (intellectual property), and that content will premiere exclusively on the Vudu platform,” Walmart spokesman Justin Rushing told Reuters.

Related: SpotX Gets Programmatic Pole Position at Vudu

Walmart is reportedly shelving a plan to compete with Netflix, Amazon and Hulu in subscription video on demand.

Walmart acquired Vudu in 2010 as a hedge against declining DVD and Blu-ray sales. The platform specializes in sales and rentals of digital movies and TV shows—a competitive market, with Apples iTunes Store, Amazon, Comcast and others in the mix.

Walmart doesn’t break out financials for Vudu. 

WalMart Eyes Netflix Clone

TWIN: According to website The Information, Walmart is plotting to create a streaming video service to rival Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu, targeted at the Midwest and priced at just $8 per month.

MCN Take: Walmart has already has a streaming video service – video on demand platform Vudu, which it bought in 2010 – that hasn’t really caught on with customers. The Information says the idea is still in its infancy and could be shelved yet again – it had toyed with offers a streaming video service in 2017 but abandoned those plans. The retailer also is said to be considering an ad-supported streaming service.

See the full story at The Information.

Netflix Shares Dive After Missing Subscriber Targets

TWIN: Netflix shares fell 13% in after-hours trading July 16 after the company reported U.S. subscriber gains of 670,000 and international customer growth of 4.47 million, well below targets.

MCN Take: Netflix had predicted it would add 1.2 million domestic customers and 5 million international subscribers. The streaming giant blamed the shortfall on over-forecasting rather than a fundamental problem.

See the full story at MarketWatch.

Netflix, Sirius XM Partner on Comedy Channel

TWIN: The satellite radio channel, tentatively called Netflix is a Joke, is expected to debut in January 2019 and marks the first time the streaming giant has pursued an audio-only channel.

MCN Take: Sirius XM said in a blog post that the channel would include material from Netflix’s own stand-up comedy catalog, comedy talk shows and original programming.

See the full story at The Hollywood Reporter.

Research: 30% of Netflix Customers Subscribe to Premium Service

TWIN: Parks Associates said in a recent research report that 30% of Netflix customers subscribe to its premium tier, up from 21% in late 2017 and despite a price increase in October.

MCN Take: At the same time, uptake for its lowest-price basic offering ($7.99 per month) has fallen from 35% to 27%. While the $10.99 per month standard package, which offers 2 streams and HD-quality video, is most popular, Parks said the pricier premium tier ($13.99) per month is gaining steam because it offers more simultaneous streams (4) than the other offerings and is higher quality – Ultra HD compared standard definition for the basic tier.

See the full story at Multichannel News.

Bruce Springsteen’s Broadway Show to Become Netflix Special

TWIN: Fans of The Boss on the Great White Way unable to secure a ticket need merely to wait until Dec. 15, when Springsteen on Broadway makes its debut as a Netflix special.

[embed]https://twitter.com/springsteen/status/1020037842565812224[/embed]

MCN Take: Dec. 15 is the date of the final on-stage performance of “Springsteen on Broadway.” The singer-songwriter invited a private audience for two extra performances last week – July 17 and July 18 – which were recorded for the special. “Springsteen on Broadway” has been running at the Walter Kerr Theater since October.

See the full story at The New York Times.

Multichannel News has teamed up with social video analytics company Tubular Labs for a recurring look at how various content creators are deploying video to reach audiences online. In this brand-focused edition, a look at how Walmart works with its partners to spark engagement on Facebook.

In the last 90 days, Walmart has worked with 60 partners to create branded videos published to Facebook. Its partners vary from digital natives including Tastemade and So Yummy to traditional media personalities such as Ellen DeGeneres and Today's Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb.

Many of the videos created with digital brands are in the popular “how-to” style—and whether about making a delicious treat or crafting springy decorations, it’s clear that the explanatory approach resonates with audiences, racking up millions of views.

The videos made with traditional media partners typically take things into a more personal, narrative realm. The styles together make for a well-rounded portfolio of branded content that appeals to a wide audience.

Below, the top five Facebook videos (ranked by views) that Walmart has sponsored in the last few months:

1. Spring into action with these 6 Easter Table Party Ideas!

Partner: Blossom
Views: 13.2 million

2. These 5 minute mug cake creations are perfect for the whole family! 

Partner: So Yummy
Views: 12.6 million

3. I've got a basket, got a basket full of sunshine...3 budget-friendly baskets to gift this Easter!

Partner: Blossom
Views: 10.8 million

4. Making brunch for a crowd? Knot a problem! 

Partner: So Yummy
Views: 9.3 million

5. These women can't get over their gorgeous makeovers

Partner: Today Style (via Kathie Lee and Hoda)
Views: 5.5 million 

Walmart is apparently raising its virtual reality (VR) game a bit as Store No 9, the retailing giant’s innovation hub, moves ahead with the acquisition of a startup called Spatialand.

Walmart and Spatialand aren’t strangers, as they worked together last year to create a proof of concept virtual reality experience that took a stab at the future of shopping during the Innov8 VR event. 

“At our core, we are merchandisers and storytellers which drives us to believe that virtual reality has the potential to reinvent the consumer experience—with an experience we call contextual commerce,” Store No 8 noted in its announcement of the acquisition.

Moving forward, Spatialand, which has worked on projects with Oculus, Intel and Reebok, will become a new VR venture at Store No 8, with Katie Finnegan to serve as interim CEO, in addition to her role as principal of Store No. 8. Spatialand founder Kim Cooper, who has done work on films such as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Prometheus as well as some video game titles, is also coming on board, along with about 10 employees, according to Recode, which also points out that Walmart is making this play even as augmented reality, and not VR, has been the one gaining traction as a technology that can spur at-home shopping. 

Also joining the group is Jeremy Welt, a Store No 8 consultant, who, during his career, helped Disney with its acquisition of Maker Studios, Finnegan noted in the announcement.

But don’t expect to hear a lot about what’s in store right away, as the new venture will operate in stealth mode for an undermined amount of time. However, the general plan is to use VR to create “immersive retail environments” for Walmart online and offline.

Some recent market data questions whether that strategy will resonate much with consumers. InMoment said its study found that 10% of consumers find VR-powered shopping experiences useful – they found other experiences, such as physical stores for online retailers (28%) and buying online and picking up in-store (46%) as far more valuable. Meanwhile, Walker Sands study from last year on the future of retail found that 8% of consumers believe that VR experiences would make them more likely to purchase products online.

The relationship consumers have with online retailers looms as a major factor in the future of video streaming. As retailers that sell devices increasingly also offer content to watch on them, brand loyalty could become a driver in consumers' streaming platform choices.

That prospect is especially significant in the context of the Comcast-Netflix deal announced July 5, under which the MSO will add the OTT streaming service to its X1 set-top box. When launched, the easy access to Netflix content via the set-top could draw the Comcast-loyal to the OTT service and the Netflix-loyal to Comcast.

Online merchants are already engaged in leveraging consumer loyalty to cross-sell devices and content. Several of the largest -- Amazon, Apple and Walmart -- offer their own streaming platforms and content; Amazon has its Prime Video service as well as the Fire TV platform, Apple has Apple TV and content via iTunes, and Walmart sells an array of devices and offers content via a Vudu-powered electronic sell-through service. But the full impact of consumer loyalty on a merchant and viewers' perception of the hardware/content connection are still in flux, like much else in the shifting retail world.  So is the competitive impact that could have on cable delivery.

Offering some insight into the potential impact is a new list of the top 25 consumer electronics etailers from MCN sister publication TWICE magazine that ranks merchants by 2015 sales revenue for CE products. What jumps out from the list is the performance of top CE sellers that are also cultivating video business.

Amazon leads the list with $23 billion in online CE sales, accounting for nearly half of the total $46.6 billion by all 25 merchants, according to TWICE. Apple came in third (behind Best Buy) with $4.2 billion in online CE sales (or about 33% of its total sales), and Walmart ranked fourth with $3.4 billion in online CE sales (or just 15.2% of its total online sales), up 7.6% from the year before.

Most significantly, all of these merchants have electronic relationships with customers, many of whom are primed to buy video content for their connected TV sets, Internet access devices or other streaming platforms. (Notably, Google, which is not on TWICE's etailer roster, also has a presence in this scenario, thanks to its popular Chromecast receiver, which is sold by many online merchants.)

Now let's look at the important relationship between the etailers and the streaming video industry, and their competitive stance vis-à-vis the cable industry. Not so long ago, cable operators were seeking to establish marketing alliances with some retailers -- including Best Buy, Circuit City (rest in pieces) and Walmart -- in part to stave off retailers' support of satellite TV services. As Netflix rolled through their world, various cable distributors have also experimented with electronic sell-through and other attempts to provide digital content in a connected environment .

As the landscape has changed, and with the growth of streaming video (and cord-cutting), electronics retailers are in a better position to maintain and extend relationships with customers. Online merchants are even a step farther along in that connection, with their access to shopper data.

Of course, when it comes to streaming media, the downside of the relationship is that retailers often only have a one-time financial interaction: at the point of purchase when the customer buys a Roku box or a smart TV or other streaming video device. Those sales typically offer no ongoing revenue stream from subscription services bought through the retailer. BestBuy tried to do that in its alliance with CinemaNow during the last decade; Target tried for several years, then abandoned its "Target Ticket" VOD service last year; the late Radio Shack (may it, too, RIP) also played with it. And dozens of other deals have been scouted around the consumer electronics market over the years.

After the retail shakeout, the handful of major online CE retailers atop the TWICE roster are in a strong position to leverage streaming video connections.  Amazon and Apple are obviously well on their way, and Walmart is big enough to try anything. Even the moribund Sears (which sold $229 million of CE products online last year, albeit a 27% drop from the previous year) still sees some possibilities in video -- it recently started selling house-label TV sets, using the brand extension of its once-popular "Kenmore" name.

The TWICE roster of online CE sales may be seen as an indicator that the marriage of online video device sales and online content distribution still has some competitive strengths.