Walmart Plus subscribers are about to get a lot more streaming content for free after a recently announced partnership with Paramount Plus to bundle the two services.
The former is hoping all these complementary benefits will help it compete better with Amazon, which is its biggest rival in the "ship everything under the sun directly to a customer's home" department.
Walmart Plus Partnership
Last week, rumors spread regarding the possible partnership of the two companies when reports noted that Walmart was eyeing Paramount, Comcast, and Disney as potential collaborators. A deal was reportedly signed between Walmart and Paramount following the rumors.
The agreement was following not long afterward by a press release from Walmart that confirmed the news and announced that Walmart Plus subscribers will be able to get the "Essential" tier of Paramount Plus for free.
This means ads, but it also means an added value of $4.99 per month to Walmart Plus subscribers, which already costs $12.95 per month. While Paramount Plus is not quite in the same league as Disney and Netflix, it has steadily built up a decent number of hits, including Halo, The Good Fight, Star Trek, and many others, as per The Verge.
Furthermore, Paramount Plus will be home to Top Gun Maverick, the now sixth-highest grossing movie ever, when it comes to streaming services later this year. This means that Walmart Plus subscribers will be able to watch a plethora of content for free.
The deal comes as earlier this year, Amazon claimed that it had more than 200 million Amazon Prime subscribers who were watching its content. On the other hand, Netflix claims to have 220 million subscribers while Disney reportedly has 221 million subscribers.
According to CNBC, Walmart's news release noted that with the help of Paramount Plus, they were able to demonstrate their unique ability to help members save even more and live better by having access to better and more content.
Paramount Plus Offers
The General Manager of Walmart Plus, Chris Cracchiolo, said that they observed a positive membership growth every month since its launch in September 2020. However, since the launch of the service, the retail giant has declined to share its subscriber total.
Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, a market research firm, estimated that Walmart Plus had 11 million customers as of July, which is the same as in April. Morgan Stanley, an equity research firm conducted a survey that pegged the subscriber count higher at roughly 16 million members as of May.
Paramount Plus, on the other hand, is one of the many services that compete for eyeballs in the streaming industry. Earlier this month, Paramount Global announced that its streaming service had 43.3 million subscribers worldwide. Officials noted that the company aims to reach 100 million subscribers by 2024.
The chief strategy officer and chief business development officer for Paramount Streaming, Heff Shultz, said in a prepared statement that Walmart customers connect with Paramount's beloved brands, content, and characters every day through a range of consumer products. He added that the partnership will provide something unique for everyone, Variety reported.
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