Paramount Global and Walmart have reached an agreement for the retail giant to bundle streaming service Paramount Plus into its Walmart Plus online membership program at no additional cost to consumers.
Starting in September, the companies confirmed Monday, Walmart Plus members will receive the partially ad-supported iteration of Paramount Plus, a $4.99-a-month value, for no additional charge beyond the $12.95-a-month price of their membership.
Launched two years ago, Walmart Plus is similar in concept to Amazon Prime, offering customers trinkets like the Prime Video SVOD service along with free shipping of purchased goods.
Walmart had reportedly also met with Disney and Comcast about the possibility of bundling their subscription streaming platforms into Walmart Plus.
“With the addition of Paramount Plus, we are demonstrating our unique ability to help members save even more and live better by delivering entertainment for less, too,” Chris Cracchiolo, general manager of Walmart Plus, said in a news release.
Paramount Plus finished the second quarter with 43.3 million subscribers globally. Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish has stated a goal for the service having 100 million subscribers by 2024.
Walmart Plus gets the SVOD closer to that bar, but it's hard to tell how much -- Walmart hasn't disclosed how many customers Walmart Plus has at this point.
Market research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimated that as of July, Walmart Plus had 11 million customers. But equity research firm Morgan Stanley has a higher estimate of 16 million members as of May.
