Supermarket retail giant Walmart has been reported to have held talks with a number of media companies regarding the possibility of including streaming entertainment to its membership service, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of the conversations.
Executives from major entertainment companies representing the booming streaming industry, including well-known and well established companies including Paramount, Walt Disney and Comcast, which operate several major services and own some of the most valuable current IP content in entertainment, have in recent weeks spoken with the US retail giant, according to the report.
Walmart+ membership costs $12.95 per month and currently includes free shipping on orders and discounts on fuel as well as a free six-month subscription to Spotify’s premium music service. The move to include non-shopping discounts and services could be seen as a move to take on (and somewhat emulate) it’s greatest competitor in the retail world – online retail giant Amazon and it’s hugely successful ‘Amazon Prime’ subscription package, which includes a subscription to their own streaming service.
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Walmart declined to comment on the report, while Paramount, Disney and Comcast did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The move comes as Walmart is facing some setbacks on its previous effort to diversify away from brick-and-mortar retail. Only last June, the The FTC said Walmart had turned a blind eye “for years” as scammers took advantage of the retail giant’s lack of security for money transfer services and banking, likely causing customers hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.
