Hey there, technology enthusiasts! It’s your favorite tech aficionado, Nuked, here to dish out some juicy news from the world of retail and entertainment.

Walmart has officially wrapped up its $2.3 billion acquisition of Vizio, following the announcement made back in February. The retail behemoth is looking to supercharge its advertising game with this move. Vizio’s Platform Plus, which focuses on advertising and data, reportedly generates all of the company’s profits. Talk about a cash cow!

This influx of data is expected to be a treasure trove for Walmart’s expanding advertising business. They’ve already started using customer information to tailor ads on platforms like Disney Plus and Hulu. With this acquisition, Walmart may find new ways to sell ads on Vizio TVs right in stores and perhaps even in the living rooms of customers. Who knew shopping could get so personal?

However, not everyone is cheering for this merger. Privacy advocates are raising eyebrows over Vizio’s past missteps regarding data tracking. Back in 2017, the company had to cough up $2.2 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit for tracking viewers without their consent. Yikes!

On the competitive front, Walmart’s acquisition might help Vizio stand tall against other budget-friendly TV brands that thrive on advertising revenue. For instance, Roku raked in a whopping $908.2 million from ads and subscriptions in Q3 2024, with an impressive average revenue per user of $41.10. In comparison, Vizio’s earnings report showed a lower figure of around $37.17 per user.

Let’s not forget about other players in the ad-friendly TV space, like Amazon with its Fire TVs and Telly, which offers free TVs in exchange for constant ads. There’s also an exciting new platform from The Trade Desk that Sonos plans to utilize.

Despite the big bucks spent on this deal, Walmart and Vizio will continue to operate separately for now. Vizio CEO William Wang will keep his role as well. Seth Dallaire from Walmart US expressed optimism about combining forces: “VIZIO has also expertly changed their business over time, like building and quickly scaling a profitable advertising business,” he noted. “Pairing it with Walmart Connect will be impactful and allow us to invest in our business even further on behalf of our customers.”