Walmart Connect audience targeting expands to Warner Bros. Discovery linear TV

This expansion signals a significant shift in how retail media networks capture high-margin television budgets by offering closed-loop measurement previously reserved for digital environments. By integrating first-party shopper data with Warner Bros. Discovery's linear reach, Walmart is transforming traditional TV spots into performance-driven assets. This move pressures competing streaming platforms and broadcasters to provide similar granular attribution to remain competitive in a market increasingly focused on retail outcomes. As commerce media moves beyond the search bar, the industry should watch for the full integration of Vizio's hardware data to further refine these cross-platform attribution models.

Walmart Connect has been methodically building the infrastructure to extend its first-party audience data beyond its own retail media properties. In April 2026, Walmart Connect launched Connect Select, a curated CTV marketplace within Walmart DSP, giving advertisers of all sizes programmatic access to connected television inventory paired with Walmart's shopper data. At launch, Connect Select included inventory from VIZIO, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery, with supply-side partnerships spanning FreeWheel, Index Exchange, Magnite, and PubMatic. The marketplace was designed to lower the barrier for mid-sized advertisers who previously lacked the scale to navigate fragmented CTV supply paths.

The Warner Bros. Discovery linear TV expansion announced at Partner Connect builds on a series of platform integrations Walmart Connect rolled out throughout 2026. In May 2026, Walmart Connect opened access to VIZIO inventory through Yahoo DSP using Magnite's supply-side technology, allowing advertisers to activate Walmart audiences and closed-loop measurement within buying workflows they already use. The Yahoo DSP integration moved from proof of concept to Alpha by October, expanding beyond VIZIO to include CTV inventory from additional publishers. Hidden Valley Ranch was among the first brands to test the capability, using it to reach high-value Walmart customers across streaming inventory while measuring connection to in-store sales.

At Cannes Lions 2026, Walmart Connect and Magnite discussed the convergence of retail media, CTV, and programmatic buying, with Khurrum Malik, VP of Business and Product Marketing at Walmart Connect, and Mike Laband, Group SVP of Revenue at Magnite, describing how 150 million customers and 4,600 stores connect to premium programmatic inventory in a single ecosystem. The conversation emphasized eliminating short-term solutions in favor of durable growth that unifies brand storytelling and performance measurement, with attribution extending all the way to offline sales. Walmart Connect reported that its CTV campaigns delivered a median of 44 percent new-to-brand buyers in fiscal year 2026, a data point that underscores why advertisers are increasingly willing to test retail media audience targeting in traditional video environments.