• by Laurie Sullivan , 3 hours ago

Walmart Connect has unveiled new and expanded services with Warner Bros. Discovery, Spotify and Yahoo DSP that bring the retailer’s audiences and closed-loop measurements to live TV, streaming audio and CTV, and gives advertisers greater insight into media buys and measurement.

The news was announced at its annual partner conference today.

As commerce media moves beyond performance marketing and into advertisers’ broader media strategies, Walmart’s media arm announced Tuesday that for the first time through Warner Bros. Discovery, advertisers can use its audiences across live linear television through its demand side platform (DSP).

The move aims to give Walmart's media arm a larger piece of of television ad dollars through a Warner Bros. Discovery partnership by giving advertisers a longer reach to Walmart shoppers on linear TV networks like TBS.

Khurrum Malik, vice president of business and product marketing at Walmart Connect, explained in a blog post how audiences and measurement available across more of the media ecosystem will help to solve all types of measurement challenges.

“We are enabling advertisers to buy media in the ways that work for them, reach the same Walmart customers across more channels and consistently connect media exposure to Walmart sales,” he wrote.

The U.S. growth of Walmart Connect, the company’s retail media arm, during the second quarter in 2026 grew 43%, excluding Vizio. Global ad revenue grew 38%. 

The plan to pursue small and medium-sized advertisers prompted Walmart to acquire TV maker Vizio in 2024, and ad-tech firm Vibe.co. Both focus on streaming TV.

The retailer has moved away from being a low-margin grocery store and into a high-margin digital platform. The 38% global ad growth and 43% U.S. Walmart Connect growth are critical because advertising yields profit margins estimated between 70% and 80%. Every dollar flowing into Walmart Connect generates more profit than a dollar spent on physical groceries.

Growth shows in how advertisers now can programmatically access live linear inventory across TBS, TLC, truTV, HLN and Food Network, with more inventory planned. No additional timeline was made public.

A private marketplace deal in Walmart DSP, enabled by FreeWheel’s programmatic technology, makes it possible. Advertisers now can combine Warner Bros. Discovery live linear and streaming inventory with Walmart audience targeting and sales measurement.

Through Walmart DSP, advertisers can also reach Walmart customers across Spotify’s audio, video and display inventory, including streaming music and podcasts, with closed-loop measurement that links ads to consumer purchases at the retailer. 

The proof of concept Walmart Connect launched with Yahoo DSP and Magnite earlier this year today moves into the Alpha phase. Brands now can reach Walmart audiences across CTV inventory beyond Vizio, with additional CTV publishers joining.

Early results from a Hidden Valley Ranch campaign with The Clorox Company showed 55% incremental reach, 27% lower CPM, 26% more add-to-carts, and 3% lift in brand awareness. 

“We’re always looking for ways to reach the right consumers more effectively and better understand how our media investment translates into business results,” Ka Chan, paid media lead, Hidden Valley Ranch, added.

It gave the campaign access to Walmart's audiences and measurements in a platform its team already uses. It has made it easier to extend its CTV reach, improve efficiency and get a clearer view of how that investment is connected to engagement, Chan added.