A little over a week ago, Variety reported on "anonymous sources" claiming that Walmart was looking into joining the streaming game. Now, the potential move seems all but confirmed.
Deadline reports Walmart is teaming up with Mark Greenberg, a longtime TV executive who was the chief executive of Epix, to look into the streaming service possibilities for the retail giant. Greenberg has also worked as a senior executive at Showtime and HBO. Although Walmart is working with Greenberg, Deadline says reports claim the streaming service is in the "early states of development and has not been formally greenlit." However, an official decision can come as soon as late summer or early fall.
The streaming game is already pretty saturated with Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. Disney and DC are gearing up to launch their own streaming platforms as well. Disney will have a bunch of new Star Wars content in addition to The Muppets reboot, a High Fidelity TV series, and likely plenty of '90s nostalgia in animated form. On the other hand, DC is slated to persuade viewers to join their streaming service, DC Universe, with original content like Titans, Young Justice: Outsiders, a Harley Quinn animated series, and more. But of course, Netflix is still going strong especially as they've inked deals with Shonda Rhimes and Ava DuVernay for original content.
However, Walmart is technically already in the game since they bought Vudu in 2010. The app allows users to rent movies in addition to streaming up to 4,000 titles for free. And as Deadline speculates, Walmart, known for their low prices, would likely offer the streaming service at a lesser price than their competition.
