Walmart's getting into the smart TV business.....

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I just heard through the grapevine that Walmart is in the process of buying Vizio smart TV manufacturer to the tune of $2.3 billion dollars to buy it outright and have plans to go against internet e-commerce giant Amazon (as Walmart sees them as their main competitor/rival). I used to think that Vizio, back in 2008, was a 3rd-rate sub-par TV brand to begin with (but it's an American smart TV manufacturer through-and-through).

And does Amazon have their own line of smart TVs to sell to the general public? I see that they have the Amazon Fire TV series lineup.

I know that the Sharp TVs of old are now sold under the HiSense brand name -- why go with a different brand name nowadays?

What are your thoughts and/or opinions on this smart TV business deal?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[syboxez]

My opinion is that this is yet another massive corporate merger. Those don't usually end positively for the end consumer, even if is a merger between two companies in unrelated fields.

[ryu]

The acquisition seems to be about the customer data they get from Vizio's spyware TVs.

[orange808]

It's difficult to imagine Wal Mart competing with premium offerings from Samsung, Sony, and LG. Wal Mart stores are about selling the bare minimum at cheap prices and that describes the current Vizio line of televisions very well. If anything, I think this will reign in Vizio's ambitions and help them focus on the low tier of the market even more.

[gray117]

Probably a good move to get in on the non premium bulk end of the business. Probably just cash they would have to give tax man anyway if they didn't spend it.

How healthy is the investment is anyone's guess unless you know more about vizio... Maybe they were getting squeezed out on some retail fronts by other brands pressuring stores and were looking for some kind of sale/partner to ease things... Be interesting to know why they wanted to sell...