If you’re a fan of Vizio’s TV operating system, you might not need to buy a Vizio smart TV in the future to get access to the Vizio experience. The company has confirmed that it is now discussing licensing its software out to other smart TV makers.
The details on this are still very light at the moment. In fact, the confirmation came through a small quote included with the company’s Q3 2023 earnings report.
“Over the past few years, we have been continuously retooling and enhancing our operating system to unlock further growth opportunities,” said William Wang, CEO of VIZIO. “While these efforts not only successfully drove record ARPU in Q3, but they are also opening up additional strategic options as well.”
Wang then added, “Today, we are excited to announce that we are beginning to explore partnerships with other TV OEMs looking for alternatives within the CTV market. Our deep expertise with integrated hardware and software provides a distinct potential for mutually beneficial outcomes for VIZIO and future partners.”
As the statement makes clear, the option of supplying Vizio’s operating system to other TV OEMs is very much something in discussion.
While a move like this could in theory impact on the company’s own TV sales, Vizio’s most recently quarterly results might provide some insight into why the move is being considered. Specifically, Vizio confirmed Platform+ net revenue of $156.2 million (22% year-over-year increase) and gross profit of $99.8 million (26% year-over-year increase).
In contrast, the company’s device net revenue during Q3 came in at $270 million, down 12% on the 307 million reported for the same quarter of 2022.
Considering Platform+, Vizio’s platform and advertising business, continues to report good revenue and gross profit gains, it makes sense for the company to consider alternate ways Platform+ can be used in the future, and especially if its device business continues to slowly decline.
As part of its Q3 2023 earnings release, Vizio also confirmed SmartCast active accounts increased to 17.9 million, while streaming hours increased to 5.2 billion
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