If you are a Spectrum TV customer, you may be missing some channels next week. Paramount and Charter Spectrum Cable TV’s parent company has until April 30 to reach a new contract or the channels will go dark, according to CNBC. An extension is still possible but its coming down to the wire.
Even if a deal is reached to keep Paramount channels, not all of them could be kept. Last year, Spectrum reached a deal to permanently drop multiple Disney-owned channels from their lineup, and now they want to do the same with other channels.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Spectrum wants to drop less popular channels and bundle more streaming services. The hope is that they will be able to create smaller, cheaper bundles of channels and streaming services.
“By pushing value back into the bundle, including the SVOD service, you create value, which helps you from a consumer perception standpoint. And creating a skinnier bundle, where customers get the content that they want for a price that they’re capable of paying, creates value,” Spectrum’s CFO Jessica Fischer told the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference.
So what channels are most likely to be dropped? Viewership data gives us the best idea and Variety has recently given us a look at the networks that most recently lost viewers in 2023.
MTV 2, MTV Classic, and Other MTV Channels Look for Paramount to start consolidating its smaller channels like MTV 2 into MTV and Paramount+. This content could be used to help grow its Paramount+ streaming service more than it would be to help profits from cable TV. Already, Paramount has reportedly been looking at shutting down its smaller networks, and MTV 2, MTV Classic, and other MTV channels are likely high on that list.
MTV 2 had just 48,000 viewers on average during primetime in 2023, a drop of 13%. Other MTV networks failed to even show up in the top 150 channels on Variety’s list of most watched channels in 2023.
Look for some of the smaller MTV networks to be dropped in a new deal with Spectrum if any channels are dropped for good.
BET Her, BET Hip-Hop, BET Soul, & More Recently, Paramount tried to sell BET and all its networks. That sale failed to find a buyer at a price that Paramount wanted. Of all the smaller BET Networks, only BET Her showed up in Variety’s top 150 channels. With that, it lost 7% of its audience in 2023 and has just 41,000 viewers during primetime. With the other channels not registering in the top 150 channels it makes it unlikely some of them will survive much longer.
It’s possible that Spectrum will ask for some BET networks to be dropped if Spectrum successfully gets Paramount to agree to cutting back on the number of channels they offer.
Spectrum is clearly ready and willing to get into fights with media companies to reach deals to bundle streaming services and offer smaller bundles of channels to consumers.
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