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[AJUMP23]

Walmart is buying smart TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion

Walmart is buying Smart TV manufacturer Vizio for $2.3 billion.

www.engadget.com

Walmart is buying Smart TV manufacturer Vizio for $2.3 billion, the US retail giant announced as part of its latest earnings report. While Walmart has long been one of the major sellers of Vizio TVs, the company says the acquisition "enables a profitable advertising business that is rapidly scaling" via the company's SmartCast OS. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval.

Vizio sells solid mid-range TVs, most equipped with its SmartCast operating system that supports free ad-supported content. The company recently refreshed its lineup with a more intuitive user interface and faster startups and app switching.


Walmart, meanwhile, prominently features the brand on its shelves (along with TCL), as anyone who has gone there lately has probably noticed. The retailer already has its own TV house brand, ONN, but those sets are very much on the low end, usually selling for under $500.

More importantly, the companies plan to combine their respective ad businesses. Walmart already has a $2.7 billion ad business, but Vizio would increase its access to key consumer info like viewership data. It would also effectively give Walmart more eyeballs for its ads — for instance, companies that sell goods at Walmart could also run ads on Vizio TVs, all of which could be tracked by the retailer.

"We believe the combination of these two businesses would be impactful as we redefine the intersection of retail and entertainment," said Walmart VP Seth Dallaire. "Our technology will help bring a scaled, connected TV advertising platform to Walmart Connect," added Vizio CEO William Wang.

The acquisition may also be a counter to Amazon's in-house Fire TV business, both in terms of television retailing and advertising, as The Wall Street Journal reported last week. Amazon has one of the largest ad businesses in the US behind Alphabet and Meta, and smart TVs help it gather personalized consumer data for targeted advertising.

I would say smart move by Walmart and I assume their ON branding will go away. But I think they want all that juicy customer data that Vizio collects.

 

[poppabk]

Thought they already owned them. Guess they have had a close partnership for awhile.

 

[AJUMP23]

Vizio was started by a LCD/LED/plasma screen maker. He saw the markups on TVs from just the screens and thought he could compete in that space, and came and ate a big chunk of the market.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Good pq for the buck but they suck for reliability and longevity in my experience.

 

[Fake]

Wasn't Vizio the cheap ones? I never saw this brand on Brazil btw.

Maybe they look at the Black Friday numbers.

 

[AJUMP23]

Wasn't Vizio the cheap ones? I never saw this brand on Brazil btw.

Maybe they look at the Black Friday numbers.

Yes they offer good picture quality TVs at a budget. But their reliability is questionable.

 

[Mistake]

Yes they offer good picture quality TVs at a budget. But their reliability is questionable.

I haven't seen anyone with issues, probably because they're easier to replace in the 6 years of getting outdated. I did notice older models having a washed out look to them

 

[AJUMP23]

I haven't seen anyone with issues, probably because they're easier to replace in the 6 years of getting outdated. I did notice older models having a washed out look to them

I had a Vizio with a bad screen and then one that got an update and deactivate the HDMI-ARC. SO I have had a couple of issues with the 2 I have owned, both High end.

 

[Mistake]

I had a Vizio with a bad screen and then one that got an update and deactivate the HDMI-ARC. SO I have had a couple of issues with the 2 I have owned, both High end.

Bad screens can happen with any TV just from bumping around during shipment. For software, I always make sure I can possibly revert an update with any product because of stuff like that, or at least wait out updates. Were you able to reset the firmware to stock?

 

[RaptorGTA]

Man. My first flat screen TV were Vizios. Absolutely loved em. Lasted a long time and the picture looked great. Most recent models I've seen didn't impress me.

 

[demigod]

Wasn't Vizio the cheap ones? I never saw this brand on Brazil btw.

Maybe they look at the Black Friday numbers.

The first time I saw a Vizio TV at a restaurant, they sucked balls. I didn’t know I was watching soccer due to the ball ghosting. Later found out it was the shitty TV.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

I thought this said Walmart bought 2.3 billion Vizio tv's and I was like....


....yeah, but fucking why?

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Vizio TV's are trash tier and perfect for Walmart

 

[The ninja farmer]

Seems a good fit for Walmart.

Might be classed as lower end and unreliable. But for many they are the affordable gateway to 4K and other features, as well as screen size (is it tcl, that are in the same sort of area with TVs for certain prices ?)

Can see them using them as their ‘in house brand for TVs. I think it’s onn just now and they are pretty awful, but really cheap

Besides, there are stories they will sell the tv bit and that Walmart actually just want all the customer data the company has and gathers through its products

 

[YCoCg]

Striking whilst the iron is rust!

Vizios were great years ago but more recent models have been trash.

 

[Codes 208]

I would say smart move by Walmart and I assume their ON branding will go away. But I think they want all that juicy customer data that Vizio collects.

ONN wont go away, its their off-brand name. Onn tablets are basically rca tablets and the tvs are basically element. I imagine they’ll likely just repackage vizios as higher end Onn tvs

Which i do agree is smart. Vizio is definitely one of the better cheap models. I certainly preferred my vizio over my newer tcl.

 

[TDiddyLive]

I never realized how large of a player Vizio was in the TV market.

Bigger than Sony caught me by surprise.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Wasn't Vizio the cheap ones? I never saw this brand on Brazil btw.

Maybe they look at the Black Friday numbers.

Ya. The brand disappeared from Canada years ago. And it was never a brand sold at every store that carried electronics.

Vizio and TCL were the brands (TCL still sold here) that get decent reviews at super budget prices. They'd never compete with LG or Samsung TVs for top tech or ratings, but you could literally get two TVs for the price of one Korean brand.

When I got a Sony 900e TV years ago, major disappointment. Issues almost from the start. My plan for a new TV had Vizio in mind but then a google check showed Vizios got canned from our market. Too bad too because Costco had them for cheap and my plan was to get the best Vizio I could find, be happy with it and save myself probably $500-1000 vs a Korean brand. No wonder I noticed Vizios disappeared from their stores. Oh well. I got a free replacement TV from Costco anyway to cover that shit Sony TV. But it's a midrange LG.

 

[CoreyFlawless]

Say this will work well for them. Crazy to think, Vizio being like the cheap tv makers, to becoming the good mid tier tvs. Then tlc being the new cheap tier king. I gues now, Walmart will have, onn as the cheap, tlc the mid with Vizio being high tier for them. Wonder if they keep selling lg and Samsung tvs after this year then?