Walmart Closes $2.3 Billion Acquisition of Vizio (variety.com) 67
Walmart said Tuesday it had completed its $2.3 billion all-cash acquisition of TV maker Vizio, a move by the retailing giant to expand its advertising business. From a report: The closing of the deal follows the expiration of the waiting period under federal regulations. Walmart announced the deal to buy Vizio in February 2024. Walmart said the acquisition of Vizio will let it "bring to market new and differentiated ways for advertisers to meaningfully connect with customers at scale and boost product discovery" through Walmart Connect, the company's U.S. retail media business.
Walmart and Vizio will continue to operate separately "for the foreseeable future," according to the announcement. William Wang will continue to lead Vizio as CEO, reporting to Seth Dallaire, executive VP and chief growth officer of Walmart U.S. Vizio, founded in 2002, is a leading vendor of value-priced HDTVs. Its device ecosystem and its smart TV operating system, SmartCast, provide free, ad-supported access to streaming content.
Walmart and Vizio will continue to operate separately "for the foreseeable future," according to the announcement. William Wang will continue to lead Vizio as CEO, reporting to Seth Dallaire, executive VP and chief growth officer of Walmart U.S. Vizio, founded in 2002, is a leading vendor of value-priced HDTVs. Its device ecosystem and its smart TV operating system, SmartCast, provide free, ad-supported access to streaming content.
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I guess you didn't get the memo in your bubble.
Your extreme alt-left group lost in a landslide that wasn't done with just minorities it was 30% of center of right democrats voted for Trump.
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Right on top of the next comment
And somehow my brain mashed them together as:
Which I thought was something like a Squid Game reference: we're all stuck in the same game, but some of us get fed hints every now and then.
Then my reading comprehension caught up, and I realized that
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Landslide? I don't think that word means what you think it does. There hasn't been a landslide in American politics since Reagan.
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Re:Tarriffs to impact this and all of Walmarts goo (Score:5, Interesting)
I'd love to boycott Walmart, but they're my closest grocery store. Granted, I have an EV so it's more of an issue of travel time rather than fuel costs, but my next closest options are:
Aldi
It's next to the Walmart, so this is the closest alternative. Extremely limited selection and closes early (I'm a nite owl), but very good prices on things where buying name brand doesn't matter.
Publix
Reasonably close, good selection, but horribly overpriced on just about everything.
Target
This is actually where I do the majority of my shopping. My main complaints are that they have a limited selection of some things and don't always have the best prices (even with the 5% store card discount). They do price match local competitors, which is hit-or-miss on whether it's worth the effort when you're buying a lot of stuff.
Whole Foods
Kind of a drive to get to the nearest one. Selection is limited by their insistence on only carrying so-called "clean" foods. Prices are about the same as Publix. Owned by Amazon which is arguably no better than Walmart on the ethical capitalism scale.
Trader Joe's
So far away that it's like living my own hero's journey story to get there. It's also located in an area with perpetually bad traffic and limited parking. I could literally go to Walmart, drive home, realize I forgot something, go back, then return home again and it would still take less time than a round trip to my nearest Trader Joe's. They'd have to start giving groceries away for free before I'd deal with going there. Also, I think they do the same thing as Whole Foods where they don't sell anything with scary sounding chemicals in the ingredients.
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Our nearby Walmart Corner Store is great - free pickup. No more walking through the parking lot or roaming the aisles looking for things. And good prices.
I especially like that the prices are straightforward, without a bunch of complicated combo deals and minimum purchase quantities to get the "deal." Just consistently low prices.
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You're seriously giving that as an example of why they're bad? It's not like that was their evil plan, and "forced" is the wrong word. It was the result of Walmart providing a more efficient market and lower prices, which are good for the local consumers even if bad for some local businesses. Really, why are you not blaming the local consumers for putting "a lot of small American businesses out of business" because of their choice of wh
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What do you have against Walmart for groceries?
It's just a generally unpleasant experience to shop at. The employees are often rude, and the store nearest to me has been checking receipts for the last year or so, which usually means there's a queue just to leave the damn store. They also seem to be the worst in regards to managing their supply chain/inventory distribution. Things go out of stock for weeks at a time that the store a few miles down the road has a bunch of. Given the choice, I'd also prefer not to support Walmart because, well, they're
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Just tell the plain truth; Walmart just isn't woke enough for you anymore:
It's more likely that Walmart doesn't want to carry pride kitsch anymore because it all ends up on the clearance aisle anyway. If they want to spin that as a win for conservatives, that's their prerogative. Is Walmart gonna bring to back the modern sporting rifles, handguns and ammo that they stopped carrying? Nope. They're just going to stop carrying LGBTQ+ stuff that wasn't selling well anyway, and cut back on philanthropic efforts (right around the time they're expecting tariffs to start impacting th
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But on the other hand I put a jug of motor oil into our Corner Store grocery pickup order, and sombody dropped it off on my patio that same day... no shipping charge. So, venturing into the sea of humanity that is a walmart supercenter is becoming a thing of the past.
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You're less likely to be harassed for a receipt at Walmart if you make sure everything you bought (you did buy it, right?) it bagged.
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You're less likely to be harassed for a receipt at Walmart if you make sure everything you bought (you did buy it, right?) it bagged.
You're also less likely to be harassed if you simply shop at a Walmart in a nicer neighborhood, which to me is both hilarious and depressing at the same time. Of course, if I'm gonna do that, I'd rather shop at Target instead. Plus, the Target nearest to me has free EV charging (also Whole Foods does too), so it literally costs me nothing beyond my extra travel time to make the trip.
If the Walmart near me ever did install free charging, the cords would probably get stolen by crackheads. I'm completely se
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Why would you wait to have your receipt checked? There's no membership (like at Costco) to impose more rules on you.
Just walk out. If they ask you to wait, say "No thanks!".
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The exit queue at this store is bottlenecked and if you wanted to "just leave" when it's crowded, you'd have to push past people. I mentioned previously, there's some real sketchy folks who shop here, so pushing could end up instigating a fight. I have no interest in getting shoved or sucker punched just to get out of Walmart a minute or so quicker.
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and the store nearest to me has been checking receipts for the last year or so, which usually means there's a queue just to leave the damn store.
Seems like it would be more efficient and user friendly if you could somehow give those people all the things you wanted to buy, they scanned them and then you pay and can leave. Maybe put a conveyor belt of some kind in front of it and if you can pack while they scan that will really keep things moving along.
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Walmart drove every single local grocer in my area out of business in less than 10 years. No more local produce outside the odd roadside stand. No more local meat without a special trip to buy directly from one of the few remaining local farmers, when he's around, and even then you can only get pork. We used to have a dairy that supplied local milk to our local grocers. Not any more.
What do I have against Walmart for groceries? Questionable meat, milk of uncertain origin, and strawberries optimized to
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The Walmart nearest to me has been putting more and more products in locked cases. Not just laundry detergent (WTF?), but things like razors, most OTC meds, batteries, and liquor come to mind. I went to a larger store a bit further away for some things for the puppy I just got and found they'd even put dog collars and leashes in a locked case. Waiting for someone to come unlock the case (which often takes several minutes) is bad enough. On some occasions, they've even insisted on carrying the item to th
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What does gay sound like? Is that supposed to be a bad thing? Why is "gay" bad?
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You shouldn't consider price as an important criterion. Behaving horribly unfairly and hatable is part of how these shops squeeze costs and win the price race. If you choose "Walmart" because they are less expensive, you validate their behaviour and the "Walmart closes acquisition of Vizio" things that you didn't like. If you want to be treated well, you have to pay for it.
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garbage company, garbage product (Score:5, Funny)
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If you're going to sell garbage, why not own and make it, too. Hopefully, they'll change the brand name to great value.
Thanks for that - I'm still laughing!
Death to ads (Score:1)
Re: Death to ads (Score:2)
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This is why my TV will never be connected to the Internet. No ads out of the box and it's staying that way. The Roku is online but DNS blocking ftw
Soon it will be difficult to find a TV that will even serve as a monitor unless it can both 'phone home' and serve ads to you. At some point, an internet connection won't be optional - too long without a nod from the mothership and your TV will either switch to low-res mode or not work at all.
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The rest of the world will be busy fixing the older devices and switch to using computer monitors, instead of watching yet another AD infested episode of Ow, My Balls!
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Americans will bend over and take it, because the only freedom they have is what choices their corporate masters' contracts of adhesion and backroom dealings allow. The rest of the world will be busy fixing the older devices and switch to using computer monitors, instead of watching yet another AD infested episode of Ow, My Balls!
Hey, settle down. Ow, My Balls! is stupendous entertainment compared to the half-baked game shows and shitty reality shows we get now.
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Just buy a commercial display. They only seems more expensive because they're not subsidized by bullshit.
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This is why my TV will never be connected to the Internet. No ads out of the box and it's staying that way. The Roku is online but DNS blocking ftw
Soon it will be difficult to find a TV that will even serve as a monitor unless it can both 'phone home' and serve ads to you. At some point, an internet connection won't be optional - too long without a nod from the mothership and your TV will either switch to low-res mode or not work at all.
There's been some chatter that they'll start coming with cellular modems installed, due to fears that someone may not want the network features. And the providers will get a modest percentage on advertising sold through the TV maker. It'll probably happen like it's happening in cars. Slow and subtle, and if called on it, "Well, this is for safety. If we don't install an always on network device, how can we be sure the TV isn't being hacked by nefarious actors? Plus, we can automagically install the latest f
Which means (Score:3)
"Walmart Closes $2.3 Billion Acquisition of Vizio"
All that means is that I won't buy a Vizio TV unless I can neuter it completely.
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Can you elaborate? How is Walmart a worse owner than the previous owner? I'm actually curious...
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Can you elaborate? How is Walmart a worse owner than the previous owner? I'm actually curious...
Vizio TVs are very popular because they come with all sorts of no-charge streaming content which you get to watch in exchange for watching ads
If you buy a Roku stick you get a whole bunch of streaming channels "for free" with a similar experience.
(I'm a GenXer. Believe it or not, this is how TV used to work. Crazy, eh?)
While this notion of your TV serving up ads when you watch content causes your typic
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I think you're right.
Interestingly, Walmart's acquisition of the company doesn't actually change its ability to insert ads on the machines. They could already do this through partnership deals with Vizio. The only thing this will change, is Walmart's ability to set whatever terms it wants for such "deals."
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Free services with ads are fine. I'm a fan of Tubi. Great selection of older shows, with ads. No big deal. It's the fact that a lot of the for pay services ALSO show massive piles of commercials that steams most of us Slashdotters. And I say that as a fellow GenXer. (Born in '73.) The high-dollar cable channels didn't show ads back in the day. We're not sure why streaming services today need to change about as much as those old cable channels, or sometimes more, rate increasing seemingly bi-monthly, and sho
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The last time I watched Tubi every other ad was the same ad for raisins or adult diapers.
I'm not a consumer for either but to binge a show (only lockdowns) required listening to the raisins song about fifty times. I also have a fructose allergy.
I actually would have prefered they do a better job selling and target ads.
If Walmart were to show their current ad flyer instead of raisins songs I would preferr that too.
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We're not sure why streaming services today need to change about as much as those old cable channels.
They don't.
In inflation-adjusted dollars, HBO used to cost around $45 per month. The top-tier of Netflix (Premium) is around half that cost, with around 7,000 titles and no ads.
(Skinemax was cheaper back in the day at an inflation-adjusted rate of around $35 per month.)
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Can you elaborate? How is Walmart a worse owner than the previous owner? I'm actually curious...
Don't put words in my mouth. Did I say that Walmart is a worse owner than the previous owner? Nope.
nugatory78's answer below was pretty much it: They bought Visio "to expand its advertising business".
So yeah, I don't want to support that advertising model with my eyeballs, so I won't buy one (unless I can neuter it).
As far as Walmart being better or worse than the previous advertiser, err, I mean "owner", I have no idea and don't really care.
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Sorry, I inferred that you felt Walmart was a worse owner from this statement:
All that means is that I won't buy a Vizio TV unless I can neuter it completely.
If the change means that you *now* won't buy a Vizio TV unless you can neuter it completely, this implies that you *currently* would consider buying a Vizio TV without being able to "neuter it completely." So I was merely wondering what changed, because as far as I can see, *nothing* really changes, except the financial terms Walmart can impose on Vizio to place its ads on the hardware. Walmart can already do this, but currently t
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You didn't misread or misunderstand.
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So I didn't put words into your mouth after all!
Vizio makes the 1984 equivalent of Telescreens (Score:2)
Everything but the camera, that is.
If you decide to buy one, don't plug it in to the Internet, no matter how much it cries to be plugged in.
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I block mine using my firewall.
Anyone sell large dumb 4k screens? (Score:3)
Years ago I bought a Vizio TV. I hooked it to a computer and used it as a big monitor to play flight simulator, play media from a server, and other computer tasks. Worked very well. No smarts at all. Now I can't buy any 4K tv panel that isn't "smart," adds latency, and distorts the picture with all sorts of "enhancement" modes. And it listens to and watches me, as well as wanting to display ads all the time. What a nightmare. Walmart buying Vizio just makes it so much worse.
Is there any Chinese company on aliexpress that sells a driver board I can replace the main board in a smart TV with to make it dumb again? All I need is HDMI input. No apps, no smarts. That's it.
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I block mine from the internet using my router settings. Works great as a 42" desktop computer monitor, and cost me $250 (several years ago). On occasion I accidentally land on the "Smartcast" channel, and move on to one of the actual inputs.
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Yes. Just search for terms like "Commercial Display", "Commercial Monitor", or "Digital SIgnage".
Companies like BHPhoto, and Newegg have vast selections.
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I mean you could, but they are way more expensive.
Vizio+Pihole (Score:2)
Basic Vizio 40" TV: $150
Raspberry Pi 4: $40
Pihole software: Free
Problem solved.
Re: Vizio+Pihole (Score:2)
In case someone needs it:
- https://www.tomshardware.com/h... [tomshardware.com]
- https://gist.github.com/hkamra... [github.com]
- https://github.com/hkamran80/b... [github.com]
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How long (if not currently) before these systems use built-in cellular network radios, Comcast's wifi network or Amazon's Sidewalk for connectivity to the Internet?
Awesome (Score:2)
Hopefully a streaming service comes next so I can load up on Walmart TV!
Data point and opinion (Score:2)
I have a Vizio tv. On the Home screen there is a "now playing" banner that shows 2 or 3 static images of titles available, but it's non-intrusive. We use it to watch content from Amazon, YouTube, and Netflix. Within those services or on broadcast TV, there are no Vizio advertisements, but YT, Amazon, and broadcast TV have their own ad setups for their content.
Vizio has some ad-supported (free) streaming services offered, e.g. Tubi and ?Freeview?, but I don't use them.
I also stream content to the TV from
My first LCD (Score:2)
My first LCD TV about 20 years ago was a Vizio. Excellent value, solid product, eventually donated it to my mother-in-law who uses it to this day. I was loyal when I upgraded from a 37" to a 55". The new TV was still in the first generation of "smart" TVs, and came with a remote control with a slide-out keyboard; I got a discount to be part of the pilot project for it where I could give feedback on its operation. I was jazzed for a TV I could browse the web with, stream from my NAS, do basic computer-y task
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Yeah, my old Vizio is mounted in the garage with a Chromecast attached to it for when I am working out there. The thing has backlight burn-in but it's perfect for a screen you aren't looking at constantly.