The brain trust at Skydance Media gave us a good glimpse at how the new Paramount under their control will look at the world – and it’s through decidedly tech-covered (smart?) glasses. One of the most interesting revelations that came out of the company’s Los Angeles press conference Wednesday at the Paramount studio lot was that new management won’t spin off the company’s cable networks as are Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. That may come as a surprise to some considering that Paramount’s slate of Viacom-era networks like Comedy Central, BET, MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, and others continue to face cord cutting and have been lowering affiliate fees in recent deals to remain on some major systems, according to disclosures during Paramount’s recent earnings reports. But the commitment to cable is far less surprising when you put that revelation next to this week’s news that Paramount will pay $7.7 billion for UFC rights (about as much as Skydance paid for Paramount, believe it or not), which will primarily grace CBS and Paramount+ but could also feed content to one or more cable nets and increase their carriage value. The company also sees BET+ as “a pretty important building block of our streaming strategy,” said Paramount President Jeff Shell, who told reporters that “we’re thinking of them as brands that we have to redefine.” It also comes down to a promise new Paramount owner David Ellison gave to seller Shari Redstone to preserve the brands her father Sumner built. Meanwhile, rumors started circulating this week that Paramount may also combine AVOD/FAST play Pluto into Paramount+, creating a pretty compelling AVOD/FAST powerhouse that could leverage everything from “Star Trek” to “Top Gun,” both of which are franchise and box office giants.
Next? The new leadership wants to meld disparate fiefdoms within Paramount – such as movies, TV, and the separately run Paramount+, Pluto, and BET+ – into a cohesive machine sharing the same tech stack and able to leverage greater stickiness that reduces churn. That won’t be fast or easy, but Ellison and Shell expressed confidence this week that reimagining the company’s iconic brands within both streaming and linear TV will be its primary focus as it also ramps up its theatrical movie slate and finds synergies there as well. Pressers are one thing. Execution is another. But with Paramount’s stock soaring on Wednesday by more than 30% as execs laid out their plans, it’s clear that investors are expecting big things. And soon.
