US retail giant Walmart has hired Mark Greenberg, a veteran of the US cable industry and former CEO of streaming service Epix, to help develop its long-rumoured low-cost subscription streaming service.

According to Variety, Greenberg is working with Walmart to explore the possibility of the retailer operating a video-on-demand service that could compete with Netflix and Amazon Prime, offering a lineup of content and lower price point designed to appeal to its core base of Middle America customers.

Walmart has increasingly been competing with Amazon over the past few years, with the online retailer moving into Walmarts traditional market of grocery shopping. Amazons acquisition of Whole Foods placed the two in more direct competition, and in response, Walmart has been strengthening its online capabilities, signing a five-year partnership with Microsoft to accelerate digital transformation and even acquiring a VR startup to explore producing virtual reality content.

Rumours have long circulated that the company was seeking to enter the streaming video market, and in fact the firm acquired streaming service Vudu back in 2010, but that brand has remained relatively disconnected from Walmart. According to reports, the new streaming service would be separate from Vudu, which currently offers over 15,000 movies and 5,000 television shows to rent or buy digitally.

Greenberg left Epix last autumn after nearly a decade as the premium TV firms CEO. He was a co-founder in the company, which was formed by MGM, Lionsgate and Paramount, although MGM bought out the two other partners back in April 2017. Prior to Epix, Greenberg ran a consulting company working with broadcasters including HBO and Showtime, as well as Lionsgate and Comcast.