Vizio: Difference between revisions

'''Vizio''' is an American designer of televisions, soundbars, and related software and accessories that has been owned by [[Walmart]] since 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 Dec 2024 |title=Walmart Completes Acquisition of VIZIO |url=https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2024/12/03/walmart-completes-acquisition-of-vizio/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241204110705/https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2024/12/03/walmart-completes-acquisition-of-vizio/ |archive-date=4 Dec 2024 |publisher=Walmart Corporate |language=en |format=press release}}</ref>

*[[Vizio fined by the FTC for collecting and selling user data without consumer consent]] (2017): Vizio sold consumers’ viewing histories to advertisers and others without consent. The company provided consumers’ IP addresses to data aggregators, who then matched the address with an individual consumer or household. Vizio’s contracts with third parties prohibited the re-identification of consumers and households by name, but allowed a host of other personal details – for example, sex, age, income, marital status, household size, education, and home ownership. And Vizio permitted these companies to track and target its consumers across devices.<ref name=":0" />

*Vizio strongly disagrees with Consumer Reports not recommending them anymore (2019): Vizio does not address the concerns raised by the reports, and instead states "It inherently assumes that TVs from 2010 should behave the same as TVs today in terms of performance.", "The applications (apps) on connected TVs are dependent on a multitude of third-party service providers. The number of variables involved in the performance of connected TVs is greater than for non-connected TVs."<ref>{{Cite web|url-status=dead|url=https://www.vizio.com/en/press/2019/mar/VIZIO-responds-to-consumer-reports-grossly-inaccurate-reliability-survey-vizio-hdtvs-maintain-high-consumer-ratings-and-overall-satisfaction;|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723182552/https://www.vizio.com/en/press/2019/mar/VIZIO-responds-to-consumer-reports-grossly-inaccurate-reliability-survey-vizio-hdtvs-maintain-high-consumer-ratings-and-overall-satisfaction|title=VIZIO Responds to Consumer Reports’ Grossly Inaccurate “Reliability” Survey; VIZIO HDTVs Maintain High Consumer Ratings and Overall Satisfaction|archive-date=23 Jul 2021|date=28 March 2019|language=en|format=press release|publisher=VIZIO}}</ref> Consumer Reports revealed that Vizio has subpar reliability relative to other TV manufacturers, which is also among competing smart tv's.<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 Mar 2019 |title=Consumer Reports No Longer Recommends Vizio and Hisense TVs Due to Problems with Reliability |url=https://www.consumerreports.org/media-room/press-releases/2019/03/consumer-reports-no-longer-recommends-vizio-and-hisense-tvs-due-/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191120093010/https://www.consumerreports.org/media-room/press-releases/2019/03/consumer-reports-no-longer-recommends-vizio-and-hisense-tvs-due-/ |archive-date=20 Nov 2019 |publisher=Consumer Reports |language=en |format=press release}}</ref>

==Acquisition==

Vizio was acquired by [[Walmart]] for $2.3bn in December 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Walmart’s Acquisition of VISIO: |url=https://www.tradingcalendar.com/post/walmart-s-acquisition-of-vizio-transforming-home-entertainment-and-retail-advertising-wmt-vzio |archive-url=https://archive.ph/8MtkA |archive-date=6 Jan 2026 |access-date=30 August 2025 |website=Trading Calender}}</ref>