Walmart is buying TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion to expand its ad business

Walmart is buying mid-range TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion USD (roughly $3.1 billion CAD), the retail giant announced as part of its latest earnings report.

Walmart says it’s acquiring Vizio because the TV maker offers “a profitable advertising business that is rapidly scaling” through its SmartCast OS platform, which currently has more than 18 million accounts. The deal has not yet been approved by U.S. regulators.

“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,” said Seth Dallaire, Walmart U.S.’ executive vice president and chief revenue officer, in a press release.

Vizio recently overhauled its smart TV software to improve the platform’s home screen experience.

In the U.S., Walmart has sold Vizio TVs for several years, while the company left the Canadian market back in 2021. In Canada, Vizio TVs were primarily sold at Costco and small retailers like Visions Electronics. It’s unclear if Walmart purchasing the TV maker means we’ll soon see Vizio TVs in Canada again.

While Vizio TVs aren’t officially available in Canada right now, several third-party retailers at Walmart and Best Buy still sell refurbished televisions.

In 2017, I purchased a mid-range Vizio M50-E1 after testing the company’s higher-end P-Series TVs for a story. It was a great TV at the time, offering HDR10 and Dolby Vision high dynamic range support for a budget price tag. Unfortunately, the TV’s backlight started to fail last year, forcing me to buy a mid-range Hisense TV (the China-based company has filled the mid-range TV void left by Vizio’s absence here).

In Canada, Walmart primarily sells Roku-powered TVs and lower-end LG, Philips and Samsung TVs, alongside its own Onn brand.

Image credit: Vizio

Source: Walmart