Walmart has reached a deal with Paramount to offer free streaming to subscribers of the retail giant’s membership program.

Walmart+ members will have free access to the Paramount+ Essential plan, an ad-supported version of the streaming service.

With Amazon offering its own Prime Video as a sweetener to its members, it seems only a matter of time before Aussie retailers such as Catch, Kogan, or Coles sign similar deals with streaming companies to bolster their own membership programs.

Walmart+ membership costs A$140 a year and includes free shipping, and petrol discounts. The retailer says this new Paramount+ Essential offering adds A$85 of value to the membership.

Shares of Paramount and Walmart gained 1.4 per cent and 0.3 per cent after the partnership was announced.

This type of subscription bundling deal is more typically seen with telcos, rather than general retailers. In the US, Disney+ launched as a free add-on for Verizon customers, while Netflix and T-Mobile struck a similar deal.

In Australia, Optus offered its own Optus Sport streaming service as a bonus to Optus customers until this month, when it started charging extra for the service. Telstra has long offered Foxtel + Telstra bundles.