In this photo illustration, a woman silhouette is holding a smartphone with the Walmart logo displayed on the screen and in the background.
Rafael Henrique | Light Rocket | Getty Images
According to a person familiar with the matter, Walmart has reached an agreement with Paramount Global to offer its streaming service as a benefit of the retailer’s Walmart+ subscription service.
The retailer launched Walmart+ almost two years ago to increase sales and increase customer loyalty. The membership program is the company’s answer to Amazon Prime and includes perks like free grocery delivery and gas discounts.
Since the service’s launch, the retail giant has declined to share the total number of subscribers and details of how the service is performing. According to estimates by the market research company Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, the number of members appears to have reached a plateau. According to its own estimates, Walmart+ had 11 million customers in July – the same number as in April.
Paramount+ is one of the many services competing for eyeballs in the streaming world. It includes movies and series like Star Trek, The Godfather, and SpongeBob SquarePants. Paramount Global announced earlier this month that Paramount+ has 43.3 million subscribers worldwide. The company aims to reach 100 million subscribers by 2024.
The deal with Walmart will give Paramount+ a new sales channel to add subscribers to and will also give the company a branding boost. Paramount+ is the only streaming service that has struck a deal with Walmart and wanted to launch exclusively to get full marketing exposure, according to a person familiar with the deal who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about it.
Walmart+ subscribers get access to Paramount+’s “Essential” tier, which normally costs $4.99 per month and includes advertising. Paramount also sells a premium product with no ads for $9.99 per month.
Walmart declined to comment. Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Wall Street Journal first reported news of the deal.
Walmart will announce its second-quarter results on Tuesday.