Walmart joins the 'streaming wars' in alliance with Paramount!

Walmart has decided to enter the so-called ‘streaming wars'. To that end, it has partnered with Paramount Global to offer its streaming service, Paramount+, to its subscribers. In doing so, it is taking its membership offering to the next level by adding a new streaming benefit. 

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The streaming service benefit is being offered as ‘another way Walmart gives its members more for less with Walmart+’ as the company is saying in their public and promotional statements. 

Walmtar+ is a membership discount program for Walmart customers at the store and at the gas pump, and now adds services of music and video streaming. 

Walmart+ will continue to cost $98 per year or $12.95 per month and includes the Paramount+ Essential Plan subscription for an additional $59.

Walmart needs to up its game

Walmart+ package with the addition of the Paramount+ Essential Plan, is a bit higher price-wise than Amazon Prime, faring $157 per year, versus the $139 from Amazon Prime.

If we add to the equation the fact that Amazon Prime library in the U.S. passes over the mark of 25.000 different titles available for streaming - among movies, tv shows, documentaries, concerts, and so on - it becomes quite clear that Walmart will need to offer a pretty compelling collection of exclusive content, not available already in Amazon Prime Video, if it wants to be competitive. 

And this won’t be an easy feat. Besides all that, one question remains: is this new alliance between Walmart and Paramount a sign of a possible rupture between Paramount and Amazon? Otherwise, it would make too much sense to have Paramount exclusive content in Amazon and not in the Paramount+ streaming service, or vice versa. 

All in all, only time will tell if Walmart has made the right call, or if - as it looks - this is a desperate measure to remain competitive in the complex membership/streaming market that has been absolutely dominated by Amazon recently.