Walmart phases out Roku-powered Onn TVs to prioritize Vizio OS

This shift marks the practical implementation of Walmart's Vizio acquisition, moving from a neutral hardware distributor to a vertically integrated platform owner. By controlling the operating system, Walmart captures lucrative high-margin advertising through Walmart Connect and gains direct access to first-party viewing data that was previously siloed by Roku. For the broader industry, this signals a hardening of retail media borders where hardware placement is increasingly contingent on software allegiance. Watch for Roku’s standalone TV shipments in Q3 2026 to gauge the impact of losing its primary budget-tier distribution channel at the world's largest retailer.

The strategic pivot away from Roku aligns with the massive growth of Walmart Connect, the retailer's advertising arm. Per Marketplace Pulse, Walmart’s global advertising business reached $6.4 billion in 2025, growing 46% year-over-year—a rate more than twice as fast as Amazon’s advertising growth. This surge was accelerated by the $2.3 billion acquisition of Vizio, which closed in late 2024. As of February 2026, Walmart CFO John David Rainey reported that Vizio advertising revenue experienced "triple-digit growth," though from a relatively small base, contributing to a quarter where advertising and membership fees accounted for one-third of the company's total operating income.

Simultaneously, Walmart is deepening its technical ties with Google to maintain pressure on entry-level hardware prices. In May 2026, as reported by Cord Cutters News, Walmart launched the second-generation Onn Google TV 4K Pro streamer. Priced at $60, this device features Wi-Fi 6, 32GB of storage, and hands-free Google Assistant support—positioning it as a high-value competitor to Google’s own flagship hardware and Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K Max. By diversifying the Onn lineup with Google TV alongside Vizio OS, Walmart is hedging its internal platform scaling against a proven third-party ecosystem that already maintains a massive global app library.

For Roku, the loss of Onn-branded shelf space represents a significant headwind for its device segment, which has historically operated at a negative gross margin to drive platform growth. Per Roku's Q1 2025 financial report, Platform revenue rose 17% to $881 million, accounting for nearly 86% of total net revenue. While Roku continues to expand its retail footprint with partners like Hisense and TCL, the loss of Walmart’s private-label volume removes a critical entry point for high-frequency shoppers who are the lifeblood of its ad-supported user base.