Earlier this week, Paramount and Skydance announced a merger that would give the latter majority control of the former. Now a new report from Deadline, sheds light on what could be the future of Paramount+ after the change in ownership.
During their Q2 earnings report, Paramount Global announced that Paramount+ declined 2.8 million subscribers, but saw an increase in subscription and advertising revenue year over year. Now with 68 million subscribers worldwide, Skydance Media looks to enhance the long-term financial probability of the streaming service by implementing different strategies when the deal is expected to close in 2025.
Future Partnerships & Bundles for Paramount+
Partnering up with another service could be at play with Jeff Shell, the expected president of the post-Skydance-Paramount deal, saying that he and CEO David Ellison would look at several options, in the Deadline report:
“To be a winner in DTC really means being in the ultimate bundle that’s coming,” he said. “We’ve got a bunch of inbound from a number of people about partnerships that could involve a partnership with another player or players.
WarnerBros. Discovery and Amazon were two companies that multiple insiders specifically mentioned to Deadline. However, what a deal would look like hasn’t been discussed. There has been a recent trend of streaming bundles, with Disney, Hulu, and Max coming together for the latest offer from major players.
Earlier this year, Paramount competitors, WBD, Disney, and Fox planned to join forces to launch the Venu Sports app which would carry sports from all three companies on a single app. Plans for that app to launch in August were paused due to a court ruling after a lawsuit was filed by Fubo.
Paramount could reach out to other competitors to create a single consumer-friendly app, similar to Venu Sports, so subscribers could find all their content in one place to offer a consumer-friendly service. Deadline points to how Paramount was able to shut down Showtime’s streaming app and create Paramount+ with Showtime, making it the largest company to do so internally.
The company isn’t new to bundling its streaming service, as it’s included with a Walmart+ membership, as well as free Burger King. Even Spectrum TV customers can currently enjoy their favorite shows and movies as Paramount+ is included with select plans.
Media execs predict that bundling is the key play for success in the future with Shell saying the following to investors, from the Deadline report:
“Eventually, the streaming world is going to look very similar to the way that the multi-channel world looked in the past,” he said. And viewers are “going to want a one-stop shop with a nice EPG and a nice technological way to find what they want to look for so they can start watching something, as opposed to sorting their way through the muck of the way it’s delivered right now. So, that’s our view. And if you’re in that bundle, you’re going to win and if you’re not in that bundle, you’re in real trouble.”
Licensing Out Content to the Competition
Merging two competing apps could prove to be difficult due to the financial and technological implications. Instead of bundling, Paramount could go the licensing route and make money from its large library of content. Deadline spoke to an unnamed media veteran who had a senior position at a top streamer that predicted Paramount+ “sends their whole catalog to Max” versus funding a DTC business, from the report:
“You could pretty easily do that. There’s absolutely a way that Paramount sends its content and then shuts down its entire tech stack,” he said, with resulting savings in the hundreds of millions based on the company’s recent financial reports.
With Paramount cutting costs and reportedly considering selling 12 TV stations, licensing their content could be a quick way to bring in more money. Possible agreements with live TV streaming services like DIRECTV STREAM, Fubo, Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV, or YouTube TV could drive their subscriber growth. Even a section on Prime Video, or Peacock could be possible if they’re willing to pay. Peacock already did something similar with the WWE, after the wrestling promotion shut down its streaming service in the US and now has a dedicated section on the NBCU streaming platform.
The future of streaming content is changing rapidly as more and more of the legacy companies are trying to gain more subscribers to their streaming platforms. With this shift, TV Everywhere apps are dying and legacy websites are being taken down.
To promote Paramount+, free content on MTV, Comedy Central, and other networks owned by the company has been removed. WBD did something similar by shutting down Cartoon Network’s website to help drive growth to Max. Visitors to those sites lost over 20 years of clips, shows, news, and other content that may be impossible to find. Plus, piracy sites are being removed, which could help bring customers back to streaming platforms.
For those who want to watch their favorite shows, movies, originals, sports, and more, new subscribers can try Paramount+ for free for one week HERE.