Walmart to acquire smart TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion in bid to boost its advertising business

Walmart is buying the smart TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion as it attempts to expand its rapidly growing advertising business to compete with Amazon

Walmart is buying the smart TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion as it attempts to expand its rapidly growing advertising business to compete with Amazon.

If completed, the deal would give Walmart access to Vizio’s SmartCast operating system, allowing the retail behemoth to offer its suppliers the ability to display ads on streaming devices.

Walmart has been ramping up its media and ad business with Walmart Connect, giving advertisers access to Walmart’s massive customer base. In its earnings release on Tuesday, Walmart said its global advertising business grew approximately 28% to $3.4 billion last year.

The moves come as Amazon announced last month it would start charging its Prime members $2.99 per month to keep their movies and TV shows ad-free, on top of the fee it charges for Prime: $14.99 per monh or $139 per year.

Vizio’s SmartCast system has 18 million active accounts and has grown by 400% since 2018. The companies say that Vizio’s platform has more than 500 direct advertisers and that ads now account for the majority of the company’s gross profit.