Walmart might offer a streaming service in the future.
The retail giant might soon enter the streaming world with Walmart's membership program Walmart+ being bundled with a streaming service, according to TechCrunch.
As per The New York Times, Walmart has met and spoken with executives from Paramount, Disney and Comcast to discuss which movies and TV shows could potentially add more value to its membership bundle.
Walmart Attempted to Engage in Streaming Services in the Previous Years
Despite the news of discussion with major media companies, it not known yet whether a deal is reached between Walmart and the streaming companies.
Paramount operates Paramount+ and Showtime services while Comcast owns the Peacock streaming service. Disney, on the other hand, runs Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu streaming services.
If the plan of Walmart will be realized, it would be an interesting development in the streaming landscape, according to TechCrunch.
The idea seems feasible as a Walmart+ membership of $12.95 per month offers a free six-month subscription to the Spotify Premium music service. The membership also includes free shipping on orders and discounts on fuel.
In the last few years, Walmart has already attempted several ways to venture into the entertainment business. In 2010, the retail giant acquired Vudu then sell it to Fandango in 2020.
In 2018, it was rumored that Walmart is developing its own streaming service. But the plans were dropped eventually as well, as per The Verge.
Over time, deals were made with Redbox and other streaming and rental companies. Walmart even set up a streaming box from its in-house Onn brand.
But now, the retail giant is attempting to re-engage in streaming service as it keeps on finding perks to offer to its customers who are spending $98 a year on Walmart+.
The company is trying to find ways to inspire brand loyalty and to encourage more people to subscribe into its services.
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Walmart's Potential Approaches to Realize its Streaming Ambitions
Walmart could consider several ways to approach its streaming ambitions. First, the retail giant could license a lot of content. It could try to create an originals team to make Walmart exclusives.
If that would be the case, it would be quite a surprise for Comcast, Paramount, and Disney to sell their content to Walmart+ when they could it keep for their own services.
Another approach that Walmart could do is to help users subscribe to streaming platform instead of competing with other streaming services.
If this would be the case, Walmart+ subscribers could potentially get a special deal on Peacock or Paramount Plus. Users could be able to access those services by logging in through Walmart+.
With this, Walmart could potentially be used as a powerful marketing tool for those services, plus it will make Walmart+ more useful through integrating different accounts and payments into one.
Walmart is not the first company to venture into the streaming services. In fact, the biggest media companies have partnered with giants in other industries to get new subscribers.
For instance, wireless providers such as Verizon and T-Mobile have made deals to provide their customers free or discounted subscriptions in streaming services "as an extra incentive to sign up."
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