Walmart-Owned Vizio Sets Original Film Starring Rachel Bilson And Scott Foley, Adds Film & TV Titles In Big Expansion

EXCLUSIVE: Smart-TV maker Vizio, which was acquired by Walmart in 2024, is bringing to market an original holiday movie and more programming from premium suppliers and creators in a major content expansion.

The initiative, unveiled Wednesday during Advertising Week in New York, is designed to re-introduce brands to Vizio, which is now the top smart TV operating system thanks to Walmart‘s massive retail scale.

The film, Jingle Bells Wedding Bells, starring Rachel Bilson and Scott Foley and produced by ITV America Nashville and Happy Accidents, will premiere exclusively on Vizio’s WatchFree+ platform this holiday season. Geico is presenting sponsor of the premiere.

“As viewing habits continue to evolve, partnerships like this give us new ways to connect with audiences,” Arianna Orpello, Geico’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement.

WatchFree+, a free, ad-supported live and on-demand streaming destination, has more than 45,000 film and TV titles along with more than 400 live and local channels. The platform said Wednesday it is deepening its ties with MGM, NBCUniversal, Disney, A&E and A24, adding programming titles this fall like The Good Doctor, Chicago Fire, Law & Order, Property Brothers, Little House on the Prairie.

Another key component of the expansion is creator content. Also bound for the platform are more than 40 creator-led FAST channels spanning comedy, food, gaming, family, lifestyle, sports and travel. Creators fronting the channels include MrBeast, Celine Dept, Hot Ones, The Royalty Family, Ben Azelart, Ryan Trahan, Nick DiGiovanni, Preston Playz, Rebecca Zamolo, Sam and Colby, and Uncle Roger.

A creator-led series, Holiday Chocolate Workshop, will center on chocolatier Amaury Guichon. The series follows Guichon and his team of expert chocolatiers as they craft “ambitious, larger-than-life holiday masterpieces for a season-ending reveal,” according to the official logline.

Originals and channels with creators enable WatchFree+ to retain more viewers before they fall into YouTube, which doesn’t provide the same level of advertising returns for stakeholders.

Since it ceased being a public company and becoming part of Walmart, Vizio has not regularly released data on viewership. Along with the programming news, the company and its corporate parent said the Vizio OS now reaches 32 million yearly active devices, up 20% year-over-year. Viewing hours of WatchFree+ is up 58% year-over-year, according to internal data.