Family Guy is joining Comedy Central in an increasingly rare off-broadcast sale to a cable network. The off-Fox animated sitcom will launch on the network in an all-day marathon on Monday, September 2, which is Labor Day, and then join Comedy Central’s primetime lineup on Tuesday, September 3.

"We are excited to welcome Family Guy to Comedy Central joining the best in adult animation alongside South Park, Futurama, and Beavis and Butt-Head, among others," Laurel Weir, executive VP and head of programming, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks, said in a statement. “Delivering bold, irreverent and culturally impactful content to our fans is our top priority, which makes Family Guy the perfect complement to our robust adult animation slate.”

The licensing agreement with Disney Entertainment was negotiated by chief programming acquisitions officer Barbara Zaneri on behalf of Paramount.

Family Guy has a long and storied history on broadcast and cable television. The animated show, created and executive produced by Seth MacFarlane, first premiered on Fox in 1999 but did not achieve immediate success. The show was canceled not once, but twice, before making its way to Cartoon Network where it aired in the network’s late-night Adult Swim block. There, it found a cult following that grew big enough, through both on-air viewings and DVD sales, that Fox ordered new episodes and redebuted the show in 2005. It remained part of Fox’s Animation Domination Sunday-night block — along with The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers and other animated series — until last March, when it was moved to Wednesday nights.  

The Emmy-winning Family Guy is produced by 20th Television Animation and distributed by Disney Entertainment. Besides having created and executive producing the show,  MacFarlane also voices several characters, including Peter, Stewie and Brian. Rich Appel and Alec Sulkin serve as executive producers and showrunners, while Steve Callaghan, Tom Devanney, Danny Smith, Kara Vallow, Mark Hentemann, Patrick Meighan and Alex Carter are executive producers.

Paramount Global said it was increasing prices for its Paramount Plus streaming service, continuing a trend that is giving sticker shock to viewers who have cut the cord as pay TV became more expensive.

The cost of Paramount Plus With Showtime is rising by $1 to $12.99 per month, while the cost of Paramount Plus Essential is jumping $2 to $7.99 a month for new subscribers.

The new pricing is effective August 20 for new customers. 

Existing Paramount Plus With Showtime customers will see the new rates in their bills after Sept. 20. 

Current Paramount Plus Essentials customers will continue to pay $5.99 a month. Paramount Plus subscribers on the limited commercial plan will see their monthly cost rise $1 a month.

Also Read: Philo Raises Monthly Price for First Time Since 2021

Media companies have been raising prices in order to cut the amount of red ink most of the streaming services have been incurring. 

For the second quarter, Paramount reported streaming losses of $286 million. 

Paramount Plus offers subscriber a menu of live sports, breaking news and original program including Mayor of Kingstown, The Chi, Lawmen: Bass Reeves, Knuckles, Fellow Travelers, Yellowjackets and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

It also has movies such as Bob Marley: One Love, Mean Girls, Top Gun: Maverick and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. 

Paramount Global and Charter Communications said they reached a new carriage agreement that gives the cable operator’s Spectrum customers Paramount’s streaming services as well as its broadcast and cable programming.

Charter signed a similar deal with The Walt Disney Co. last year. The cable company believes its customers should continue to get the programming media companies are moving to streaming without having to pay more.

The new deal gives Charter’s Spectrum subscribers the ad-supported versions of Paramount Plus and BET Plus, as well as networks including CBS, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

"From the outset, Paramount has embraced Charter's goal of evolving the video distribution model, and we have appreciated their willingness to collaborate on a solution that benefits our mutual customers and the video industry as a whole," said Tom Montemagno, executive VP, programming acquisition for Charter.

“Spectrum continues to transform the cable bundle to become the best destination and value for video customers and we expect to continue to add more enhancements like this in the near future,” Montemagno said.

The deal comes with Paramont’s future ownership in question. There have been several bidders for Paramount and having a carriage deal with the nation’s largest cable operator should bolster Paramount’s value.

”We are very pleased to renew and expand our long-standing partnership with Charter to provide continued access to Paramount's leading portfolio of broadcast, entertainment, news and sports brands,“ Ray Hopkins, president of U.S. Networks Distribution at Paramount, said. “This innovative deal celebrates our mutual commitment to deliver flexibility, choice and value for audiences everywhere, and we look forward to bringing even more of our fan-favorite programming to Spectrum customers through our direct-to-consumer streaming services for the first time.”

Under the deal:

• Charter will continue to carry Paramount’s CBS owned-and-operated broadcast television stations, along with all of Paramount's current cable networks and Paramount Plus with Showtime, in relevant tiers across all Spectrum TV Select packages, Mi Plan Latino, TV Choice and TV Stream.
• Later this year, Paramount Plus Essential and BET Plus + Essential will be made available at no additional cost to all Spectrum TV Select packages and Mi Plan Latino customers through the Xumo Stream Box or any other Paramount Plus supported device, and the Paramount Plus with Showtime plan will continue to be received at no cost by all of Spectrum's Paramount Plus with Showtime linear customers as well.
• Spectrum customers that have Paramount Plus + Essential included will be offered the opportunity to upgrade to the ad-free version of Paramount Plus with Showtime later this year.

It might not have television's most friendly set these days, but production on the final six episodes of the Yellowstone flagship series is officially underway in Montana, distributor Paramount Global said Monday.

Part 2 of the fifth and final season of Yellowstone is set to premiere on the Paramount Network in November -- two full years after the debut of the eight-episode part 1.  

Production was delayed by last year's Hollywood guild strikes, as well as an acrimonious scheduling conflict centering around leading man Kevin Costner, who has been overseeing a multipart Western feature film epic, Horizon. 

Costner received a lengthy standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival over the weekend after screening part 1, Horizon: An American Saga. (Critics weren't as kind, with one describing the three-hour film as "more Waterworld than Dances With Wolves.)

For his part, creator/producer Taylor Sheridan is moving the forward-looking edge of the franchise san Costner, with working-titled 2024 currently in pre-production. 

Sheridan, who has already launched three Yellowstone prequels, is also developing 6666, which is focused on a Texas ranch founded an operated by the Comanches. 

Sheridan's series empire, which also includes Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King and Lioness, could probably populate an entire menu bar on the Paramount Plus user interface.  

Indeed, it's been a powerful driver for multiple Paramount platforms, including CBS, which received some of its biggest audience ratings of the 2023-24 TV season when it ran five-year-old Yellowstone repeats last fall to fill in the blanks on its strike-bereft schedule. 

Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management have made a $26 billion cash offer for Paramount Global, according to published reports.

Shari Redstone, whose family investment company National Amusements owns a controlling voting interest in Paramount, has been pursuing a deal with Skydance Media, which would pay a premium for National Amusements.

The Skydance deal raised opposition among Paramount’s other shareholders and led to the departure of Paramount CEO Bob Bakish.

Paramount stock, which has bounced up and down amid reports of bids for the company, jumped 12% Thursday on news of the new bid from Apollo and Sony.

A Paramount spokesman said the company wasn't commenting.

A very tumultuous week for Paramount Global will not include a blackout with the largest U.S. pay TV operator, with the media company and the MSO agreeing to keep Par channels on the Charter programming grid as the two sides keep negotiating, according to multiple published reports in Bloomberg and the Penske showbiz trades, citing inside sources. 

A Charter rep had told Next TV earlier Tuesday, "We have nothing to share at this time, and we're not providing any guidance." (Hmph …) 

In extending the current arrangement, Paramount and Charter avoid a fate similar to Comcast and bankrupt regional sports network operator Diamond Sports Group, which squared off with blackout threats Tuesday amid failing negotiations. 

Controlling around 13.7 million video subscriptions amid lean times in the U.S. pay TV ecosystem, Charter wields considerable leverage these days. And the cable company has used that leverage recently, securing major concessions, for example, in a closely observed renegotiation with The Walt Disney Co. back in September. 

Also read: Three’s Company: Paramount Names George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins as ‘Office of the CEO’ Trio Who Will Replace Bob Bakish

For its part, Paramount just sent its longtime CEO, Bob Bakish, packing on Monday, as it enters advanced M&A discussions with David Ellison and his Skydance Media. 

Benefitting from a record-breaking Super Bowl audience performance in February, Paramount on Monday reported solid first-quarter metrics for CBS, its cable channels and streaming service Paramount Plus. 

But any good vibes would be quickly undone if CBS, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon were to be shoved off Spectrum-branded video program guides. 

Powered by a record-breaking Super Bowl audience in February, Paramount Global matched equity analysts’ forecasts for first-quarter sales, growing revenue 6% to $7.685 billion, with direct-to-consumer sales expanding 24% year over year to $1.879 billion. 

Paramount also reported a big 44% year-over-year reduction in OIBDA losses on direct-to-consumer streaming at $286 million in the first quarter, with Paramount Plus adding 3.7 million subscribers in the quarter to reach 71 million. 

Perhaps not surprisingly, given all that was going on with the company on Monday beyond just earnings, Paramount executives didn't want to hang around to discuss any of it. 

Also Read: Three’s Company: Paramount Names George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins as ‘Office of the CEO’ Trio Who Will Replace Bob Bakish

Thirty minutes before what amounted to be a seven-minute earnings call, Paramount announced that the trio of George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins would replace longtime CEO Bob Bakish. 

Each of the trio spoke briefly and similarly at the beginning of the short call, touting their longtime collaboration and promising to announce details of how the, er, unique leadership situation will work at a later date. 

Chief financial officer Naveen Chopra then read the top line of the company's earnings. 

Then, before any of the equity analysts on virtual hand Monday could even utter the name “Skydance,” it was announced there’d be no Q&A, and the call was finished. Good day to you. 

Beyond the executive turmoil, the company’s advanced M&A talks with David Ellison’s Skydance Media, and its also-ongoing carriage/retrans negotiations with Charter Communications, there were green shoots to discuss. 

With the record audience of 123.7 million viewers tuning in for an extra-long overtime Super Bowl jam-packed with extra commercial time, TV media ad sales spiked 14%, with total revenue from linear TV reaching $5.231 billion in the first quarter. 

Even filmed entertainment sales were up, 3% to $605 million, on the strength of titles including the Mean Girls reboot, Bob Marley: One Love, and Miramax-produced Jason Statham beat-em-up The Beekeeper. 

Paramount stock was up narrowly in after-hours trading. 

Bob Bakish, president and CEO of Paramount Global, will depart the company as Paramount explores a merger, according to numerous published reports. The reports said Bakish’s unsettled relationship with Shari Redstone, Paramount non-executive chair, is a major factor in the move. 

The deal could come Monday, April 29. 

Paramount is in talks to merge with Skydance. 

Bakish joined Paramount predecessor Viacom in 1997. He became president and CEO in late 2016 and then president and CEO of ViacomCBS in late 2019. He was named Paramount president and CEO in 2022. 

Paramount’s brands include CBS, CBS News and Stations, Paramount Plus, Showtime, MTV and BET.

Redstone is reportedly displeased with Bakish’s decision not to sell Showtime, and taking BET off the market before a deal went down.   

Paramount reports earnings April 29. CNBC reported that Bakish is not expected to be on the earnings call, and could be dismissed before that. 

Paramount Global did not respond, on short notice, to a request for comment at presstime. 

Reports said Bakish’s successor could be by committee, including George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS; Brian Robbins, president and CEO, Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, and chief content officer, Movies and Kids & Family; and Chris McCarthy, president and CEO, MTV Entertainment Group. 

Shari Redstone has taken a major step in her quest to sell her troubled Paramount Global media empire, agreeing to enter an exclusive M&A negotiating window with David Ellison and his Skydance Media. 

Citing numerous unnamed sources, The New York Times reported Tuesday that Redstone's National Amusements, Paramount's parent company, was prepared to enter exclusive talks with Skydance, and The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the decision had been made to make it happen. 

Neither Paramount or Skydance has officially confirmed the talks yet. 

Paramount is pausing discussion with other potential suitors, including private equity firm Apollo Global Management, which rendered an $11 billion bid for the studios portion of the conglomerate's business last month. Media mogul Byron Allen also made a $30 billion cash-and-debt offer in January for all of Paramount Global's businesses. 

Redstone owns 77% of National Amusements, which controls Paramount, home of the CBS Television Network; cable channels, including Nickelodeon; a major Hollywood film studio; and the Paramount Plus subscription streaming platform. 

With the linear assets fading fast, Redstone and National Amusements have hoped that Paramount Plus, which touts around 70 million subscribers, might rekindle Paramount Global's growth. Paramount's stock is down more than 18% from the start of 2024. 

Losses from direct-to-consumer streaming have narrowed for Paramount of late, with fourth quarter “operating income before depreciation and amortization” (OIBDA) coming in at a $490 million loss versus $575 million in red ink a year earlier. 

But Paramount Plus’s arrival as a money-making engine still isn’t close at hand. “DTC losses are abating, but even if one squints real hard, it is difficult to see a path towards long-term streaming success for Paramount Plus,” MoffettNathanson analyst Robert Fishman recently wrote.

Ellison and Skydance have been key production partners for Paramount for years, shepherding big feature-film projects through Paramount Pictures including those from the Mission Impossible and Top Gun franchises.  

It was reported in January that Redstone and Ellison had already explored a possible deal. And last month, Ellison appeared before the Paramount board of directors, pitching his vision for the tie-up. 

The Golden Globes will remain on CBS and Paramount Plus for five more years, according to a new deal between Paramount and Dick Clark Productions, which owns the awards ceremony. The new agreement kicks off with the January 2025 broadcast, keeping the Globes on CBS and Paramount Plus through January 2029. 

CBS picked up the rights to the Golden Globes last year and aired its first edition of the film and television awards show on Sunday, January 7. The 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards averaged nearly 10 million viewers, according to Nielsen’s live plus seven day national ratings, up nearly 50% from last year and the show’s largest audience since its pre-pandemic airing in 2020. That broadcast also was the third-largest live-streamed CBS special event ever on Paramount Plus in terms of reach, according to Paramount. Broadcast TV is increasingly reliant on sports (especially football) and live events to draw big audiences.

“CBS’ collaboration with the Globes for this year’s broadcast was a big win for both of us and established strong momentum for awards shows in 2024,” George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS, said in a statement. “The Globes is a one-of-a-kind live event that adds another marquee special and valuable promotional platform to CBS’ annual calendar.”

“We’re so proud to continue to call CBS our home for the Golden Globes,” Jay Penske, chairman and CEO of Penske Media and Dick Clark Productions, also said in a statement. “CBS stepped up for the Globes during a very challenging time, and inherently understood its  value, while having the foresight, imagination and conviction to bring this iconic show to its many platforms. We’ve long admired CBS’ commitment to some of the greatest cultural live events and partnering for the long term further cements this show’s legacy and incredible place in history.”

The Golden Globes was formerly run by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) and had aired on NBC since 1996. There, the show, which featured celebrities partying while receiving awards, drew in an audience second only to the Oscars. That in turn drew a big license fee: NBC was reported to pay HFPA $60 million a year for the privilege of airing the show. 

But a 2021 exposé in the Los Angeles Times that questioned the HFPA’s ethics and diversity upended the organization, eventually causing it to dissolve. NBC skipped the Golden Globes in 2022 but gave it one more shot in 2023. In the meantime, the Globes were sold to a joint venture between Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media, and Eldridge Industries. Today, the Golden Globes are viewed in more than 185 countries around the world.

A lawsuit filed by SEAL Team script coordinator and freelancer Brian Beneker, who claims he was denied a writing position because he’s a heterosexual white man has attracted criticism from some fellow writers.

The complaint, levied against CBS Studios and its parent company Paramount, alleges that the plaintiff was repeatedly denied a staff writer job after the implementation of an “illegal policy of race and sex balancing” that promoted the hiring of “less qualified applicants who were members of more preferred groups.”

Beneker is represented by America First Legal Foundation, a conservative group founded by Stephen Miller, a policy adviser for former president Donald Trump. The organization has supported similar lawsuits against Morgan Stanley, Starbucks, McDonald’s and other big companies.

Beneker is seeking at least $500,000, as well as a court order making him a full-time producer on the series and barring the further application of “discriminatory hiring practices.”

In his complaint, Beneker, who has worked as a script coordinator for CBS’ SEAL Team since 2017, details times in which he was allegedly passed up for staff writing positions in favor of Black or women candidates, who he claims were less experienced than he was and often had no writing credits.

The lawsuit argues CBS’ hiring practices have “created a situation where heterosexual, white men need ‘extra’ qualifications (including military experience or previous writing credits) to be hired as staff writers when compared to their nonwhite, LGBTQ, or female peers.”

However, several writers took to X to express their frustration with the suit and Beneker’s alleged complaints.

Brandon Margolis, who served as a writer for The Blacklist and S.W.A.T., wrote that he knew nothing about the specifics of Beneker’s situation but nonetheless posted: “My dude, you are not the one who decides how qualified you are ... If you’ve gotten a script and your [showrunner] decided not to staff you, there was a simple reason: it wasn’t good enough.”

Writer-producer-director Jim Fagan also took to X, writing, “The show that knew me, my work ethic, and my creative abilities better than any other show on Earth didn’t want to hire me so now I guess I’ll sue my way into a career.”

Jorge A. Reyes, a writer for Netflix’s Queen of the South was harsher, tweeting, “I worked with this guy in 2000 — I was a writer, he was a script coordinator and a seriously odd duck THEN. He thinks never gotten a staff writer job in 24 years because he’s white?? It’s because he’s weird and the work’s not good.”

Some were more sympathetic, with Brooklyn Nine-Nine screenwriter Van Robichaux taking to X to say that “regardless of your opinion of the individual writer suing CBS/Paramount, I think we should generally normalize writers suing and shame companies violating employment law — not the other way around.”

CBS first announced its DEI goals in May 2020, with targets for scripted television adopted as an initiative for its programming “to more accurately reflect diversity both on-screen and behind-the-camera.” 

The goal was to allocate a minimum of 25% of the network’s future development budgets to projects created by people of color. Writers rooms were to be staffed with a minimum of 40% BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) representation,” with a goal to increase that number to 50%.

According to UCLA’s annual diversity report, female writers and writers of color began to approach proportionate representation during the 2021-2023 season. Overall, though, the study concluded that people of color “remain underrepresented on every industry employment front.”

With Paramount Global entering key renewal talks with Charter Communications in the second quarter, Lightshed Partners' Richard Greenfield has become the latest equity analyst to question Paramount's ability to carve out the kind of groundbreaking agreement established between Disney and the No. 1 U.S. pay TV operator back in September.

The landmark Disney deal gave wholesale discounts for Charter to resell Disney Plus and other Disney streaming services. The pact will likely serve as “the paradigm for how [Charter] approaches future distribution agreements,“ Greenfield said in a Lightshed blog post.

Paramount Global chief executive Bob Bakish said back in early November that he also wanted to explore similar "hard bundles" with pay TV operators. At the time, another influential equity analyst, MoffettNathanson's Robert Fishman, threw cold water on the plan.

“How incremental to the linear bundle is Paramount Plus?” Fishman asked. “With simulcasts of CBS stations included within the app, including coveted sports rights such as the NFL, we remain skeptical the company will be able to get true wholesale incremental value." 

With Paramount's Charter negotiations now at hand, Greenfield expressed agreement. 

A key Charter objective, he notes, is not to pay for the same content twice.

And while Paramount Plus has exclusive content not carried by Paramount's basic cable networks, Greenfield explains, the current availability of CBS and Nickelodeon on both Charter and Paramount’s streaming service robs the conglomerate of some of its most lucrative bundling opportunities. In fact, four of Paramount Plus' eight trending shows last weekend were from Paramount’s linear TV networks: SpongeBob, Paw Patrol, Survivor and The Neighborhood.

But perhaps most critical to Paramount’s distribution strategy is one key property: the NFL on CBS, which carries historically consistent viewership and the potential to protect other networks.

That was one of the justifications for 2019’s CBS/Viacom merger, which Greenfield says was intended to “use the power of the NFL to protect the carriage of Viacom’s increasingly vulnerable networks.”

However, with NFL available to Paramount+’s lowest-tier, $5.99 ad-supported customers, Paramount is seriously undercutting the earning value of their own channel suite.

"Let’s step back and ask: why are any Paramount networks carried by distributors? Only one reason: the NFL on CBS," Greenfield wrote. "In fact, the entire rationale of the CBS/Viacom merger was to use the power of the NFL to protect the carriage of Viacom’s increasingly vulnerable cable networks. However, with NFL on CBS available on Paramount Plus' low-end, $5.99 ad-supported tier, it has to make distributors wonder why they need to carry the Paramount suite of channels."

Paramount Plus is also available at no additional cost to Walmart Plus subscribers as advertised on the corporation’s website, devaluing the power of NFL programming even further.

By enabling such easy access to sports content via streaming, Greenfield claims that “Paramount has destroyed the value of their content by enabling such easy access to sports content at far too low of a price versus what they expect to be paid for their linear networks by MVPDs.”

Paramount elected not to sell Showtime for $3 billion, and instead incorporated it into their service, offering Paramount Plus to all existing Showtime subscribers.

Paramount has scaled back its production quantity of original content, and according to Greenfield, “is trying to leverage the power of the NFL content that is not exclusive to the bundle,” and therefore lacks the bargaining power needed to tow Paramount.

And he claims that Charter won’t stand for it, likely requiring reduction to affiliate fees paid to Paramount, or for the inclusion of a Paramount Plus Essentials subscription in cooperation with Charter’s networks. If Paramount refuses both of those, Greenfield believes Charter may even drop the networks, a loss of distribution that Paramount can certainly not afford.

Comcast and Paramount Global, which already jointly operate streaming effort SkyShowtime in parts of Europe, have held talks to discuss possibly combining their streaming platforms here in the U.S. 

The discussions, which were not described as at all advanced by the news platform first reporting them, The Wall Street Journal, also involved “other strategic options.” Neither media company is publicly discussing the dialogue yet, but there has been third-party confirmation by the Penske showbiz trades and other outlets via anonymous sources.

The move would be, of course, about scale. 

Paramount Plus touted 63.4 million U.S. subscribers as of the end of September, up 38% year over year. Comcast said in January that Peacock, operated by its NBCUniversal division, had around 31 million paid subscribers at the end of 2023, triple what it had just two years ago. 

For its part, the biggest subscription streaming operator, Netflix ended 2023 with 80.13 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada. 

Comcast and the erstwhile ViacomCBS formed SkyShowtime in August 2021, combining their streaming efforts in parts of Europe in which Peacock or Paramount Plus weren’t already established independently.

Both media companies are engaged in a lot of exploratory dialogue right now. 

Also read: Paramount Global Set To Dismiss 800 Employees in Cost-Cutting Move

During Comcast’s fourth-quarter earnings call, CEO Brian Roberts once again asserted his lack of desire to enter into any substantive M&A. But with Peacock seeking scale, a JV certainly wouldn't be out of the question.

Meanwhile, as they face numerous media-business headwinds, Paramount and its parent company, National Amusements, have been exploring a broad range of deals recently.  

While some have scoffed at Byron Allen’s latest billion-dollar bid, this time targeting Paramount Global, Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall called the offer “credible” and said the Allen Media Group chief’s offer increases the odds that Paramount does a deal with someone.

Paramount Class B shares jumped 15% in early trading Wednesday and were up about 7% at midday.

Allen confirmed that he offered $30 billion in debt and equity for both Paramount’s controlling shares and its publicly held shares.

“Investors have viewed Allen's prior media M&A offers as longer shots due to financing. However, those deals didn't always have willing sellers (Disney’s ABC, Paramount’s BET),” Cahall said in a note on Wednesday morning.

Cahall said there were reasons why Allen’s bid for Paramount seems “credible” to him.

“This is the first offer that benefits B shareholders vs. just a premium for NAI's A shares that convey control,” Cahall reasoned. “This could put pressure on the board to explore options that benefit everyone, and it could mean that currently reported interested parties (e.g., Skydance, Redbird, Apollo) have to consider a total share offer, too.”

Also Read: Paramount Global Stock Jumps on Report of Possible Buyout

Cahall looked at the math of Allen’s plan, which appears to be to sell off the Paramount studio, some intellectual property and real estate, while keeping CBS, Paramount’s cable networks and the Paramount Plus streaming service.

Most of the others interested in Paramount want the studio and would have to search for a buyer for its declining linear assets. Allen wants those, making a purchase and breakup easier to execute because “there are ample buyers for the studio/content,” the analyst said.

Cahall figures that Paramount Pictures is worth $13 billion plus $2 billion for its studio lot. That means Allen values the linear assets and Paramount Plus at $15 billion.

Robert Fishman of MoffettNathanson was more skeptical about Allen’s offer. 

“As of right now, the financing behind his bid is unclear, casting a shadow on the offer’s credibility. Without financing details, we are not sure what the impact will be on the ongoing processes others are pursuing for Paramount and National Amusements’ controlling stake,” Fishman said.

Fishman notes that by assuming Paramount’s debt, he risk triggering change-of-control covenants. 

As to Allen’s interest in running Paramount’s network and running them better, Fishman says “we wish him the best of luck.”

It’s not just Allen. Legacy media is a mess.

“The situation in U.S. media has increasingly progressed from challenged to desperate, leaving management teams to consider commensurately desperate measures. That clearly now includes accelerated M&A talks.” Fishman said. 

At least early on, it doesn't appear that Wall Street is reacting super-enthusiastically to "Warnamount," the new slanguage that just emerged following Axios' report Wednesday that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav sat down earlier this week to discuss merger with Paramount Global chief executive Bob Bakish.

For starters, stock prices for both companies are (further) down since the news broke -- just over 6% for Paramount and about 4.5 % for WBD. 

Equity analysts, meanwhile, have expressed decidedly "meh" opinions in Thursday investor notes. 

Describing the possible Warnamount outcome as a result of "desperate times for media companies leading them to explore desperate measures," MoffettNathanson analyst Robert Fishman conceded a deal would produce synergies across linear networks, sports rights portfolios, subscription streaming platforms and news. 

But besides adding more than $15 billion of additional debt to Warner's already leveraged books, the merger would cause WBD to pay a premium for yet more declining linear networks and limited IP, while also recouping deceptively low cost savings from shutting down Paramount Plus. 

"As pressure mounts from growing secular linear TV advertising headwinds, cord-cutting acceleration and a weaker macro backdrop putting more burden on sustainable cash flows, and leverage moving in the wrong direction for PARA, we still question why any company would try to catch a falling knife? What is the rush with the likelihood of waiting for an even cheaper price if a real advertising recession transpires?," Fishman added.

Meanwhile, Jason Bazinet of Citigroup told Penske showbiz trade Deadline that none of the media mergers in recent years have proven to be "the elixir that allowed you to generate huge amounts of cash flow." 

He added, "You can't draw a straight line between M&A and profitability in streaming."

For his part, Fishman believes Comcast -- which is exploring ways to better compete with Disney -- might make a more logical acquirer of Paramount. 

"At the end of the day, Comcast may be the one strategic buyer with the capital structure and assets required to benefit either WBD or PARA in a long-term viable way," Fishman wrote. "An NBCU spin could help WBD de-lever depending on deal structure. The key issue is whether this is a path the company really wants to explore, especially over the coming months ahead of likely even more disruption in the ecosystem."

Having incurred billions of dollars in annual losses building direct-to-consumer streaming platforms, the major Hollywood conglomerates are close — as in just months away — from profitability on streaming. 

That’s the contention of London’s Ampere Analysis, which claims The Walt Disney Co. will turn the corner as soon as Q1 of next year — two quarters earlier than it originally told investors several years ago.

Warner Bros. Discovery will follow in the third quarter of 2024, Ampere added. And by Q1 2025, Paramount and NBCUniversal will have reached profitability, as well. 

By 2028, Ampere predicts, the major studios will earn between $1 billion to $2 billion annually in earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) from direct-to-consumer streaming, just based on their current geographical market footprints.

To us, it feels a little counterintuitive against other data we’ve been seeing — including a report released by MoffettNathanson the other day that showed growth slowing for the major subscription streaming services. 

But for its part, Ampere attributes some of the turnaround to “cost rationalization.” Through rigid austerity, for instance, Warner Bros. Discovery reported Q3 DTC adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $111 million vs. an EBITDA loss of $634 million in the third quarter of 2022. 

Direct-to-consumer adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were $111 million, compared to a $634 million loss a year ago.

A new embrace of advertising dollars has been key, as well. 

 “The analysis shows that streaming direct is not a broken business model but an important revamp of an existing content exploitation window,” Guy Bisson, executive director at Ampere Analysis, said in a statement. 

“Understanding that this model is on the point of consistent and notable profitability is crucial as the ability of streaming to continue driving content origination and investment has wide implications for the creative sector,” Bisson continued. “Additionally, with studios now able to position streaming correctly as a profit-making direct subscription window that is complimentary to theatrical exhibition, transactional and free television, sectors that had previously been deprioritized should also see a boost. The rationalization of streaming is already seeing renewed support among studios for the theatrical window and revisiting of the content-licensing model.”

Paramount Global has become the first programmer to join Go Addressable, a group formed by distributors to push addressable advertising that has now been incorporated as a nonprofit trade organization.

The other members of Go Addressable, which launched as an industry initiative, are Altice USA’s a4 Advertising, Charter Communications’ Spectrum Reach, Comcast Advertising, DirecTV Advertising and Dish Media.

“As we reach a pivotal point in the future of addressable TV, Go Addressable continues to find new ways to enhance, innovate and drive momentum behind this medium across the TV ad ecosystem,“ Paramount VP, addressable advertising partnerships Maribel Becker said. “We’re very excited to lead programmer participation in this industry group.”

As a growing trade group, Go Addressable said it will have additional funding to drive awareness and adoption of data-driven addressable advertising.

According to surveys by Advertiser Perceptions cited by Go Addressable, 73% of advertisers and agencies are currently using addressable advertising and 81% said addressable advertising was part of their upfront negotiations.

“Since its inception in 2021, Go Addressable has been instrumental in tracking and shaping the medium’s trajectory, including through launching industry guidelines and keeping a real-time pulse on the industry’s latest adoption, usage of this medium, trends and more,” said Comcast VP and general manager for data and addressable enablement Larry Allen, who serves as Go Addressable’s board chairman. “Today’s incorporation as an official trade organization will further enable us to amplify our thought leadership and education-rooted approach to raising awareness and adoption of this medium, as well as drive future innovation in this space.”

Go Addressable will hold its third annual industry summit in New York on Wednesday.

Paramount Advertising said Karim Mawji and Lydia Daly have been added to president John Halley’s senior leadership team.

Mawji is senior VP, global client partnerships. He is based in Los Angeles and will be responsible for keeping clients informed and updated on Paramount’s content and capabilities. He will also work in collaboration with the international sales team.

Daly is senior VP, market & audience intelligence. She is based in New York and her team’s responsibilities are being broadened to generate audience, marketplace and cultural insights. Daly’s team will work with the sales team to develop strategic direction on category and marketplace trends, and work on brand impact studio with sales and Paramount Brand Studio.

The moves follow a reorganization of the sales force announced last year, shortly after Halley was named president.

With the linear television business sinking, and taking the traditional advertising business with it, Paramount Global has staked its claim to being one of the leaders in digital advertising.

On Paramount’s earnings call Monday, CEO Bob Bakish said Paramount’s ad business posted a slightly smaller decline in the second quarter than in the first quarter. He added that in the upfront, Paramount saw positive low-to-mid-single-digit growth on volume.

“And in both cases, digital is a point of strength,” he said.

Most media companies are betting on advertising revenue to push their streaming properties closer to profitability.

Bakish made it a point to let analysts and investors know that “Paramount is a leader in the digital ad space,” and he enumerated the company’s digital ad capabilities.

“Our direct digital revenue is up by strong double digits year-over-year, powered by the premium content offerings on Paramount Plus and Pluto TV,” he said. “Three years ago, we launched EyeQ, our digital ad platform, as a simple and effective solution for advertisers to connect their brands to consumers at scale. Since then, it has seen incredible growth. 

“The EyeQ footprint now stands at more than 90 million full episode viewers domestically, and we expect to generate revenue approaching $3 billion this year, rivaling the best, the biggest players in digital video, and we’re building upon that strength internationally as well,” Bakish added.

Chief financial officer Naveen Chopra also highlighted streaming ad sales in his presentation.

“We are now growing [direct-to-consumer] advertising not just as a replacement for linear, but as a compelling video alternative for the long tail of advertisers who have historically relied on social media and short-form video advertising,” he said.

Paramount’s DTC ad business, mostly on Paramount Plus and Pluto TV, generated $421 in advertising revenue in the second quarter, up 21% from a year ago, or $78 million.

Traditional TV advertising is still much bigger. Paramount’s TV media group generated $1.946 billion in ad revenue, down 10%, or $228 million. 

“Looking ahead, we expect to see continued acceleration in D2C advertising growth in Q3 and we’re also bullish about the long term,” Chopra said.

The company sees more integration with buy-side ad tech platforms, leading to increased programmatic sales.

Paramount sees clients in a handful of categories, including pharmaceuticals, retail, movies and travel, starting to spend more ad dollars.

“That said, we see linear advertising recovering more slowly than digital and we expect the Q3 rate of change for TV media advertising will be relatively similar to Q2 with improvement in Q4,” Chopra said.

Paramount is ramping up its international ad-supported streaming business. Pluto TV has been launched in more than 35 markets, and the company plans to launch ad-supported tiers of Paramount Plus in certain markets.

“Why is this important?“ Chopra asked. “Simply put, it means the TAM [total addressable market] for connected TV advertising is much larger than typically imagined, and we’re proving it by giving a whole new class of advertisers the ability to tell their story on the TV glass.” 

Paramount Global said it agreed to sell publishing company Simon & Schuster to KKR for $1.62 billion.

Simon & Schuster was deemed to be a noncore asset for Paramount, which reported a second quarter loss and is looking to cut its debt.

Paramount had previously agreed to sell Simon & Schuster to rival publisher Bertelsmann’s Penguin Random House for $2.2 billion, but that deal fell through after it was blocked by the Justice Department over concerns the merger would lessen competition for publishing rights.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement on a transaction that delivers excellent value to Paramount shareholders while also positioning Simon & Schuster for its next phase of growth with KKR,” said Paramount CEO Bob Bakish. “The proceeds will give Paramount additional financial flexibility and greater ability to create long-term value for shareholders, while also delevering our balance sheet.”

Also Read: Paramount’s Bob Bakish Touts Digital Earnings Growth

On Paramount’s earnings call Monday, chief financial officer Naveen Chopra said that the company didn't lose much despite the new deal's lower price.

“Between the $1.62 billion sale price, the $200 million termination fee paid by Penguin Random House and the cash flow we received during the pendency of the deal process, we will realize approximately $2.2 billion of gross proceeds,” Chopra said.

After the closing of its sale to the investment firm, Simon & Schuster will become a standalone private company and will continue to be led by Jonathan Karp, president and CEO and Dennis Eulau, chief operating officer and CFO. 

“We see a compelling opportunity to help Simon & Schuster become an even stronger partner to literary talent by investing in the expansion of the company’s capabilities and distribution networks across mediums and markets while maintaining its 99-year legacy of editorial independence,” Richard Sarnoff, chairman of media at KKR, said. “We also believe the opportunity to create an ownership culture within one of the world’s top publishers has enormous potential to create value for all of Simon & Schuster’s stakeholders.” 

The investment builds on KKR’s current and prior investments in content-oriented media businesses including Epic Games, Mediawan, Leonine Studios, Artlist, Skydance Media, BMG and RBmedia.

LionTree Advisors is acting as financial adviser to Paramount. 

Underscoring a weak market for TV advertising, analyst Robert Fishman of MoffettNathanson Research has cut his forecast for the second-quarter ad revenue figures media companies will be reporting over the next few weeks.

Fishman said he expects The Walt Disney Co. to report a 6% drop in cable ad revenues in calendar Q2, compared to his earlier estimate of a 3% drop. He also expects Paramount to report a 17% drop in cable ad revenue, compared to the 15% decline forecast earlier, and AMC Networks’s ad revenue to be down 12%, compared to 10%.

That would lower Fishman’s forecast for second-quarter cable advertising revenue to $4.48 billion, down 12.3% compared to a year ago. Fishman’s previous forecast called for an 11.3% decline.

For the broadcast business, Fishman expects Paramount-owned CBS to be up 1.4%, compared to an earlier forecast of a 2.4% gain, and for Disney’s ABC to be down 16% versus his earlier forecast of a 15%  drop.

Fishman now sees total broadcast ad revenues of $2.47 billion, down 8.3%, compared to his earlier forecast of $2.48 billion, down 7.8%.

Total national TV ad revenue is now expected to be down 10.9% to $6.95 billion, compared to dropping 10.1% to $7 billion.

Meanwhile, Fishman sees ad revenue for the big direct-to-consumer platforms rising 19.7% to $2.26 billion.

Among the media company-owned streamers, Fishman sees revenue rising 67.8% Paramount Plus, 32.2% at Peacock, 29.8% and 4.1% at Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max and Discovery Plus. He sees Pluto TV revenue as down 3% and Hulu down 8% in the quarter.

Fishman also sees The Roku Channel growing by 5.5% and the new ad-supported tiers for Disney Plus and Netflix generating $138 million and $119 million in Q2 ad revenue, respectively.

“While we have never put a whole lot of weight behind the outcome of the upfronts, this year’s is worth paying closer attention,“ Fishman said. ”Previously, advertisers were forced to hold their noses and accept CPM increases as lowered ratings also meant lowered supply, and alternative options for broadscale premium reach remained limited. This year, FAST channels and AVOD services are delivering a fresh pool of inventory, increasing supply, and cord-cutting and ratings declines outside of sports have eaten into just how much reach television is able to deliver.” 

As a result of the ad-revenue weakness, which Fishman said might not be a short-term phenomenon, the analyst has also cut his stock price targets for AMC Networks ($14 a share versus $18 previously, Warner Bros. Discovery ($15 vs. $16) and Paramount ($11 vs $12).

Paramount Global on Tuesday officially made Paramount Plus the streaming home of Showtime, offering the combined service for $11.99 per month.

The integration is designed to give Paramount Plus a broader content offering as it competes for scale in the race for streaming subscribers against bigger players including Netflix and Disney Plus.

One of the earlier programming services to offer a streaming option, Showtime will no longer exist as a standalone brand.

“By adopting the boundary-pushing programming of Showtime onto our platform, Paramount Plus has fortified itself as the ultimate total household destination in streaming,” Tom Ryan, president and CEO of Paramount Streaming, said. “Together, these powerhouse brands will showcase the breadth and depth of our content offering from across Paramount. At this price point, we’ll put the value of the Paramount Plus  with Showtime plan up against any other.”

The new Paramount Plus With Showtime plan replaces the $9.99-a-month Paramount Plus Premium Plan. Current Paramount Plus subscribers will have a choice of moving up to the new product with Showtime or dropping down to the Paramount Plus Essential Plan, which does not have Showtime programming, for $5.99 per month.

The Showtime linear channel remains as is at this time. In the future, the linear channel will be rebranded to Paramount Plus with Showtime, delivering a selection of premium Paramount Plus and Showtime hit titles across both linear and streaming.

“From Yellowjackets to George & Tammy, Showtime is synonymous with provocative, edgy and sophisticated series that perfectly complement the blockbuster, mass appealing original shows, movies and live sports that Paramount Plus delivers, which together, provides a compelling and comprehensive set of content for the entire household,” said Chris McCarthy, President & CEO, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios & Paramount Media Networks.

Peacock has finally dropped the first eight episodes of the fifth and final season of Yellowstone, nearly five full months after season 5, episode 8 of the mega-hit Montana-set, ultra-violent primetime sudser debuted on the linear Paramount Network back in early January. 

With the season 5 premiere delivering 12.1 million viewers via live and encore runs across Paramount cable channels Paramount Plus, CMT, TV Land and Pop, the Taylor Sheridan-produced melodrama is currently the most popular scripted show in the linear broadcast and cable universe. 

And in what has to rank as one of the worst strategic decisions of the streaming video era, Paramount licensed exclusive U.S. subscription streaming rights for the series to Peacock in early 2020, a year before it launched subscription streaming rival Paramount Plus. 

By the time Sheridan launched his two hit Yellowstone prequels, 1883 and 1923, as well as two other successful series, Mayor of Kingstown and Tulsa King, Paramount got wise and kept the shows' streaming rights for Paramount Plus. 

In the interim, Peacock is still experiencing the biggest boon since the Montana land grab. 

With Yellowstone star Kevin Costner engaging in a well-reported public feud with Sheridan and the production team, Yellowstone will wind down with the ongoing production of season 5, volume 2, which still doesn't have a linear premiere date on Paramount cable networks. 

Paramount plans to sunset Costner's Yellowstone and relaunch the modern-day edge of the Yellowstone Cinematic Universe in the construct of a new series, reportedly starring Matthew McConaghy. That series will almost undoubtedly stream on Paramount Plus.

But Peacock will also get those final eight season 5 episodes from the original Costner Yellowstone, whenever it is they're finally ready to drop. 

Let them eat tenderloin!

Back in Hollywood, the Writers Guild of America just went back on strike, its rank and file complaining that it can't feed its families on the gig economy being created by eight-episode-season binge-era streaming. 

And Paramount Global just saw its stock tumble more than 28% in a single day after it reported a $1.1 billion first-quarter loss on Thursday.

Happily for the man who is currently Paramount's most coveted production partner, Taylor Sheridan, these problems are just headlines, as a Friday Wall Street Journal story outlining the emerging 52-year-old mogul's production largesse strongly indicates. (More on that in just a second.)

Indeed, Sheridan just keeps on winning. 

On Friday, it was also announced that Sheridan has become actually the second person within the last week to successfully divorce Kevin Costner. 

The acrimonious relationship between the movie actor who became the TV star of Sheridan's seminal hit, Yellowstone, will end with Costner exiting the franchise later this year at the end of the season 5, part II. And yet another Yellowstone spinoff will take its place, this one reportedly starring Matthew Mcconaughey. 

That will sustain the number of Yellowstone Cinematic Universe series in the Paramount realm at three, factoring in prequels 1883 and 1923, with the highly prolific Sheridan also nurturing Sylvester Stallone starrer Tulsa King and Jeremy Renner's Mayor of Kingstown, and a number of other shows in development. 

So Sheridan doesn't have to put up with Costner's reportedly tedious scheduling demands, and Paramount Plus can put the leading, modernized edge of the Yellowstone narrative on Paramount Plus with the rest of Sheridan's other shows. This comes after the conglomerate notoriously squandered the flagship Yellowstone by licensing its exclusive domestic streaming rights to NBCUniversal and Peacock before the show became a steer-sized hit. 

Back at (one of) the estate(s) of Shari Redstone, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Paramount non-exec chair reflexively poring over the bills on Friday afternoon ... not to mention the conglomerate's top-level executive management roster. 

But as the WSJ headlines its story, Redstone and Par probably still "can't say no" to Sheridan, who reportedly commands a cumulative annual production budget of $500 million.

"Among other expenses incurred by Sheridan and his 101 Studios, WSJ said, "are herds of cattle at $25 a head, over $200,000 for a week-long 'cowboy camp,' and paying [1923 star] Harrison Ford’s flight insurance for his hobby of flying prop planes.

And even before he blew up, the paper described Sheridan as never rolling cheap. 

WSJ also said the first season of Yellowstone was budgeted at a lofty $7 million per episode, but ballooned $20 million over that line factoring in script and production delays. The latest season allocated $12 million per installment and went over budget, too. 

And no one seems to be telling Sheridan that cataclysmic stock drops are a reason he can't have nice things. 

In a keynote  at February's Cattle Industry Convention, Sheridan said that his Yellowstone actors are outfitted with the same pricey, high-quality jeans, saddles and other gear favored by real-life ranchers, so that the production will come off "real and authentic" to a "bunch of cowboys."  

Of course, the Alliance of Motion Picture & TV Producers might want to consider how guys like Sheridan "come off" to union writers, who seem to be girding themselves for a lengthy typing stoppage this summer. 

As Next TV reported Thursday, Moody's Investor Service sees the AMPTP as being far apart from the WGA. In fact, Moody's predicted the strike could last over three months. Certainly, the AMPTP's constituents face real problems, with linear businesses eroding quickly and streaming operations still producing red ink for most media companies. 

But the narrative of excess and and wealth polarization seems to loom large among rank-and-file writers.

"The system’s broken, and it’s time for it to be rectified," Allison Glock, exec producer on The Blacklist, told Broadcasting + Cable's Mike Malone from the the WGA picket line in NYC Friday. "Unfortunately, this is the only way that folks seem to listen."

VideoAmp said that in campaigns conducted with Paramount Global, advertisers got better results when using VideoAmp data as currency, compared to buying based on traditional demographic data.

VideoAmp, one of the measurement companies offering an alternative to Nielsen,  created reports highlighting the impact of those campaigns to showcase the benefits of big-data currencies.

The campaigns on average were 11% better at creating likelihood to convert. Compared to demo audiences, advanced audiences were 37% more likely to convert than demo audiences.

When bought using VideoAmp data, the campaign achieved 83% incremental lift from digital.

Also Read: VideoAmp Launches Ad Metrics on a Second-by-Second Basis

VideoAmp and Paramount have been working together for several years and more recently, Paramount said it would be using VideoAmp currency for some deals. The companies said they have executed more than 100 deals together.

The outcomes data is based on 12 campaigns that ran in 2022 that were guaranteed against VideoAmp currency in 2022.

The advertisers were in the auto, consumer packaged goods and quick-service restaurant categories. 

“Paramount has been strong proponents and implementors of new currencies, big data audiences and resulting optimization capabilities,” said Travis Scoles, senior VP, advanced advertising, Paramount. ”As demonstrated by VideoAmp’s results, we are able to capture a more comprehensive footprint of consumers to deliver accurate and impactful outcomes for our advertisers.”

More than 200 local CBS affiliate stations have returned to Fubo, ending a two-month standoff and a little more than two weeks after the CBS Affiliate Board finally signed off on parent Paramount Global’s revised master broadcast retransmission agreement for live-streamed pay TV services. 

At this point, most CBS stations have returned to Fubo, the vMVPD said, which has an updated list of local broadcast affiliates it carries here. 

Paramount had negotiated a retrans deal with Fubo for carriage of local CBS stations. But at the beginning of February, the CBS Affiliate Board rejected that arrangement. Affiliate board member stations groups Sinclair Broadcast Group, Nexstar Media Group, Gray Television, E.W. Scripps Co., Tegna, Hearst Television and Cox Media Grouo removed their CBS affiliates from Fubo, and Fubo began running Paramount's national CBS feed in affected markets.

The Paramount agreement’s rejection marked a broader disenchantment by local station owners of master retrans agreements carved out by the affiliated networks' owners themselves with vMVPDs. Affiliate owners want to be able to negotiate these deals themselves, or at least have a much larger voice in the negotiations. 

“We firmly believe that we should control our own destiny with regard to the virtual MVPDs, instead of allowing the network to negotiate on our behalf,” Nexstar chief operating officer Tom Carter said during his company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on February 28. “Given the lack of regulation in the digital world, it’s important that we remain united as an industry.”

For Paramount and CBS, the revolt threatened to spill out onto other digital arrangements with the likes of Paramount Plus, Hulu Plus Live TV and YouTube TV. 

Meanwhile, The Walt Disney Co. caught its own flak, with Sinclair rejecting its vMVPD retrans terms and pulling its ABC affiliates off Hulu. That kerfuffle still hasn't been settled. ▪️

Advertisers continue to be mad for March Madness, with the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament drawing record revenue, according to executives from Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery, which team up to televise the event.

Despite a generally soft TV ad market, this year’s sales revenue for the tournament has already surpassed last year’s record level, according to John Diament, executive VP, advertising sales at Warner Bros. Discovery. Prices for 30-second commercials are up by mid-to-high single-digit percentages on a cost-per-thousand viewer (CPM) basis, Diament said.

Last year, spots in the tournament's championship game sold for more than $2 million.

Commercial inventory is “virtually” sold out, added John Bogusz, executive VP, CBS Sports sales at Paramount Advertising. He said inventory is very tight during the first weekend. There are a few spots available as the tournament gets down to the Sweet Sixteen. The Final Four weekend and the championship game, airing on CBS, are just about sold out, he said. 

A few spots are reserved for makegoods to ensure that all advertiser reach the number of viewers they are guaranteed.

Also Read: March Madness Scores Big for Advertisers: Effectv Study

Paramount and WBD start with a leg up because the NCAA has 17 official sponsors who buy media time in the tournament, with games on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. 

The top — champion — sponsors are Capital One, Coca-Cola and and halftime sponsor AT&T. The other NCAA corporate sponsors are Aflac, Buffalo Wild Wings, Buick, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Great Clips, Invesco, LG, Marriott, Nabisco, Nissan, Pizza Hut, Reese’s, Unilever and Wendy’s.

Among the strong categories are autos, quick service restaurants, movies and technology.

Diament noted that the tournament tent to reach an upscale demographic. 

Bogusz added that the live nature of sports continues to attract viewers and entrall advertisers. 

Paramount’s CBS has the next Super Bowl. “We’re open for business,” Bogusz said.

Nearly all of the advertisers on the TV broadcasts are also sponsors of March Madness on Demand, where the tournament games are streamed online. “Demand for those types of digital products is through the roof,” Diament said.

This year's March Madness will be the last for Jim Nantz, the veteran CBS sportscaster who has hosted the tournament for decades. It's likely that Nantz and popular Turner Sports personalities including Charles Barkley will show up in commercials and integrations. ■

David Nevins apparently tried to pull a Victor Kiam with Showtime, but Paramount turned him down. 

Citing unnamed sources, the Wall Street Journal reported that the longtime Showtime chief executive, working with private equity firm General Atlantic, offered to buy the venerable premium channel for $3 billion. 

Paramount, however, demurred, choosing instead in a move announced earlier this month to demote the Showtime brand to within the Paramount Plus ecosystem. 

WSJ also reported that Paramount rejected another offer from Lions Gate to merge Showtime with premium-channel rival Starz. 

And that's still not all -- Paramount is also said to have rejected a $6 billion bid for Showtime from former company executive Mark Greenberg and private equity. 

Nevins, who ran Showtime from 2016 through last year, saw his role at Paramount significantly expand following the re-merger of Viacom and CBS Corp. that created the current "Paramount Global" constellation as we know it. 

He abruptly announced his departure in October, saying in a staff memo, “Quite simply, over the past several months I’ve come to the conclusion that I am ready for the next phase of my life and my career. The industry is transforming rapidly, and I am genuinely excited about what the future holds." 

Paramount hasn't officially commented. 

In what appears to be a negotiating impasse with series star Kevin Costner, Paramount issued a staunch denial of a Deadline report that it plans to end its mega-hit modern Western show Yellowstone and launch a spinoff starring Matthew McConaughey.

“We have no news to report. Kevin Costner is a big part of Yellowstone, and we hope that's the case for a long time to come," Paramount said. "Thanks to the brilliant mind of Taylor Sheridan, we are always working on franchise expansions of this incredible world he has built.  Matthew McConaughey is a phenomenal talent with whom we’d love to partner." 

With the show currently in production on the back half of season 5, the Penske Showbiz Trade Conglomerate publication reported that creator Taylor Sheridan and his producing team have become impatient with star Kevin Costner's shooting schedule demands. 

With his own film projects said to be competing for his time, Costner, who plays patriarch John Dutton on Sheridan's flagship series, is said to have originally agreed to committing 65 days to shooting the eight front end episodes of Yellowstone: Season 5, but then demanded that the limit be brought down to 50 days. 

Also read: Paramount Orders a Second Season of '1923,' the Latest 'Unrelentingly Grim' Expansion to Taylor Sheridan's 'Yellowstone' Universe

For the six remaining season 5 episodes that are currently in production, Costner only wanted to commit to being on set for a week, Deadline reported. 

The producers are said to currently be in negotiations with McConaughey ... with whom, Paramount even admitted, it would love to partner up with. 

Launched on the Paramount Network in 2018, Yellowstone has grown into a ratings powerhouse and now serves as the hub on a growing wheel of spinoff shows, including recently launched hits 1883 and 1923. 

Sheridan's empire, meanwhile, has expanded into other realms of star-powered macho melodrama with Mayor of Kingstown and Tulsa King. 

Sheridan's Yellowstone spinoffs debut on Paramount Network and other Paramount pay TV channels before streaming on Paramount Plus. 

Notably, however, Paramount sold exclusive domestic streaming rights to Yellowstone to NBCUniversal and Peacock. So rebooting the modern, forward-looking component of the YCU (Yellowstone Creative Universe?) would enable Par to maintain the entire narrative on Paramount Plus. 

Following the integration of Showtime into Paramount Plus, Erin Calhoun has been named executive VP, communications for Paramount streaming and cross-company publicity.

Calhoun had been executive VP, communications for Showtime.

Susan Lundgren, who had been senior VP, communications for streaming, will be leaving Paramount, the company said.

Tom Ryan, CEO of Paramount Streaming, said that in her newly created position, “Erin will lead communications for our integrated streaming team, ensuring we are effectively showcasing the momentum and milestones of this incredible enterprise and reinforcing the benefits of our broad, multiplatform offering. As part of this, she will bring together the communications teams from Paramount Plus, Pluto TV and Showtime to create a united function focused on our powerful streaming story.”

Calhoun will report to Ryan, and also work with Chris McCarthy, president Paramount Media Networks, who will continue to lead the Showtime studio and oversee operations for the linear channel.

She will also oversee cross-company publicity, reporting to Justin Dini, Head of Communications for Paramount.

Ryan thanked Lundren for her contributions. “She helped oversee communications efforts for not only CBS All-Access after it launched, but the incredibly successful rebranding and launch of Paramount Plus over the last two years,” he said. “Susan’s work, along with that of the entire streaming communications team, have been integral to making Paramount Plus one of the fastest-growing streaming services in the industry. ■

Paramount Global will provide FuboTV with a CBS network feed — stripped of local programming — to stream in markets where CBS affiliates turned down a distribution fee deal negotiated by the network.

According to a confidential memo sent to affiliates by the CBS affiliate board and obtained by Broadcasting+Cable, CBS set a 5 p.m. Friday deadline for stations to opt in or out of the deal. In markets where stations opt out, their programming will be replaced with the network feed on Fubo effective Monday at 5 p.m. 

The national feed, including sports and primetime shows, with use content from the CBS News Streaming Network to replace a station's local programming including local newscasts, CBS said.

The new deal with the sports-focused streamer would run until after CBS broadcasts the Super Bowl in 2024. 

“FuboTV’s affiliation agreement with Paramount Global includes our right to carry CBS-owned and operated local stations and affiliated stations upon their election to opt into it,” Fubo said in a statement Friday. “Unfortunately, some CBS affiliates have decided not to opt into our current agreement. In those affected affiliate markets, Fubo will switch customers to a national feed of CBS’s signal, allowing our customers to continue watch their favorite CBS programming.”

The affiliate board said it did not endorse the last offer it got from Paramount. Negotiations have been going on for six months, and the board said the current, “last-minute” proposal was worse than earlier proposals. Paramount has ignored counter offers made by the affiliates and their efforts to negotiate their own retransmission deal, the board said.

One affiliate told B+C that Paramount was lowballing the affiliates. The board noted that in addition to negotiating for carriage of the stations, Paramount is also negotiating a rate that includes the company’s cable networks, presenting a conflict of interest.

As of the Friday deadline, some affiliates have agreed to opt in, one source indicated. Others may do so before station signals are dropped on Monday.

In 2017, CBS reached a deal with its affiliates under which the stations and the network would work together on distribution to streaming platforms including CBS All Access (now Paramount Plus) and also virtual MVPDs like YouTube TV and Hulu Plus Live TV.

“CBS Affiliates initially allowed the former CBS Corporation to control this distribution for a short period of time to facilitate the quick launch of nascent vMVPDs,” the board memo said. “Unfortunately, this initial support of vMVPDs has led to a broken system through which Paramount today seeks to control the retransmission on Fubo (and the other vMVPDs) of all CBS Affiliates’ signals.”

At this point, “the CBS Affiliates Board remains adamantly opposed to Paramount’s insistence on controlling the retransmission rights of independently-owned local CBS affiliates on vMVPD platforms like Fubo.”

Stations that opt out of the network’s agreement with Fubo are able to negotiate with the vMVPD to get their local programming carried, the memo said.

“CBS, through the Affiliate Board, has provided our affiliates a fair opportunity to continue their carriage on FuboTV with short-term, mid-term and long-term options, including under the existing contract. Unfortunately and inexplicably, the Board has not endorsed any of our multiple solutions. This may result in certain CBS affiliates electing to discontinue their local feeds on the FuboTV platform," CBS said. 

“In an effort to prevent a viewer disruption in affected markets, CBS may provide a national network content feed to ensure that FuboTV subscribers retain access to news, sports and entertainment programming from America’s most-watched broadcast network,” CBS said. “We are committed to working in good faith, and we hope the Affiliate Board will reconsider the opportunity on behalf of its CBS affiliates.” ■

Paramount Advertising said it is enabling Unified ID 2.0, which will allow advertisers to target viewers by matching their first-party data with audience data about Paramount’s EyeQ connected-TV streaming commercial inventory.

Unified ID 2.0 is an industry approach to identifying viewers pioneered by The Trade Desk designed to optimize audiences and maximize inventory value while preserving consumer privacy.

“With EyeQ, we set out to offer advertisers a premium CTV ad solution with massive scale, bolstered by audience optimization capabilities, and simple, speedy campaign execution,” Leo O’Connor, senior VP and head of programmatic advertising at Paramount, said. “We are excited to leverage Unified ID 2.0 in collaboration with The Trade Desk and provide innovative, privacy-conscious audience targeting solutions for our shared advertiser clients.”

Paramount’s EyeQ provides a single point of entry for advertisers across Paramount’s streaming library, including Paramount Plus, Pluto TV, BET, CBS News, CBS Sports Network, Comedy Central, MTV, Paramount Network, Smithsonian Channel and VH1.

“In partnership with leaders like Paramount, this support of UID2 can allow participating advertisers to embrace new approaches to identity across the digital media landscape,” The Trade Desk chief revenue officer Tim Sims said. “Paramount’s inclusion of Unified ID 2.0 in select inventory represents a major moment in the seismic shift currently happening in TV media buying. This represents an opportunity for data-driven advertisers to securely pair their first-party data with inventory that can deliver a better, more relevant consumer viewing experience.” ■

Paramount Plus's expansion of the Yellowstone universe with the launch of 1923 and a spinoff of the National Treasure movie franchise lead the list of shows debuting this week.

The series 1923 -- which debuts December 18  - is the second prequel to the Kevin Costner starrer Yellowstone, following the streamer's 1883 series which debuted on the streamer in 2021. Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Darren Mann and James Badge Dale star as members from an earlier generation of Yellowstone's Dutton family.  

On December 14, Disney Plus will debut National Treasure: Edge of History, an action-drama series based on  the National Treasure movie franchise starring Nicolas Cage. The Jerry Bruckheimer-produced series stars Lisette Alexis in the lead role as she searches for a lost treasure while seeking to unbury the truth about her family’s past, according to the streaming service. 

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for multiple shows debuting the week of December 12 to December 18 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

December 12 – Baking It (returning series) – Peacock

December 13 – Kindred (drama) – Hulu

December 13 – Last Chance U: Basketball (sports reality) – Netflix

November 15 – The Game (returning series) – Paramount Plus

November 16 – If These Walls Could Sing (documentary) – Disney Plus

November 16 – Litvinenko (drama) – AMC Plus

November 16 – Nanny (horror movie) – Prime Video

November 16 – The Recruit (drama) – Netflix

Paramount has renewed Taylor Sheridan's Tulsa King, after the show's premiere helped lead subscription streaming service Paramount Plus to its biggest signup day ever, while also commanding basic cable's largest scripted premiere audience so far this year with its preview on the Paramount Network.

Tulsa King stars Sylvester Stallone as a mafia capo, just released from prison and trying to build a new criminal life in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The first episode scored 3.7 live + 3 day viewers after it was previewed on Paramount Network, besting the linear cable performances of HBO's House of Dragon (2.8 million L+3 viewers), FX's The Old Man (2.3 million), AMC's Dark Winds (2.3 million) and A&E's Secrets of Playboy (2 million).

Paramount didn't disclose the level of streaming viewership for Tulsa King on its home base, Paramount Plus, where the series is now situated with most of the rest of the Sheridan kingdom -- Mayor of Kingstown, and Yellowstone spinoffs 1883 and the upcoming 1923.

Also read: Paramount Plus Claims Its Biggest Signup Day Ever on NFL Football and the 'Taylor Sheridan Universe'

The show that got Sheridan, a former Sons of Anarchy bit role actor, rolling, Yellowstone, streams its repeats exclusively on NBCUniversal's Peacock in what has to be one of the more short-sighted content licensing deals of all time.

Paramount also said that the season 5 premiere of Yellowstone on Paramount Plus back on Nov. 13 has risen to an audience of 17 million linear viewers when L+7 metrics are factored in. It's the biggest linear number of the year for a scripted show.

"Tulsa King together with Mayor of Kingstown, 1883 and the upcoming 1923, undeniably confirm the success of our strategy to franchise Yellowstone and use it to supercharge streaming growth -- none of which would be possible without the creative mastermind of Taylor Sheridan," said Chris McCarthy, president/CEO of  Paramount Media Networks and MTV Entertainment Studios.

"With the combination of the incomparable Sylvester Stallone and Taylor Sheridan's darkly comedic twist on the beloved mobster genre, we have found our latest hit in Tulsa King," added Tanya Giles, chief programming officer for Paramount Streaming. ■

The season 5 premiere of Yellowstone delivered 12.1 million live+SD viewers, making it the biggest launch yet for the mega-hit red state drama as well as the most-watched scripted series premiere of 2022.

For its initial run on the Paramount Network Sunday evening, season 5, episode 1 of Yellowstone, which features Wyoming rancher John Dutton (Kevin Costner) being sworn in as mayor, drew 8.8 million viewers. Simulcast runs on sibling Paramount Global networks CMT, TV Land and Pop, added to encore telecasts, upped the total to 12.1 million viewers.

The performance represented a 7% uptick in viewers over the previous record, the season 4 debut of Yellowstone. Viewers ages 18-34 were up a whopping 52%, while watchers 18-49 increased by 22%.

Samba TV, which said Yellowstone delivered 5 million L+SD households, said the Season 5 premiere was the "No. 1 scripted television premiere of 2022." ■

Comedy Central said that Trevor Noah's last day hosting The Daily Show will be December 8.

Two weeks ago, Noah abruptly announced he would be leaving the franchise after a seven-year run.

Paramount's Comedy Central channel cryptically announced that the franchise will return with a "reinvented" version on January 17, but said details -- including a new host -- would be released sometime in the future.

"Trevor is an incredible talent who has left an indelible mark on The Daily Show and we're grateful for his creative partnership over the past seven years," said Chris McCarthy, president & CEO, Paramount Media Networks and MTV Entertainment Studios.

Leading up to Noah's last show, Comedy Central will be looking back at Noah's best moments, starting December 5.

With cord-cutting and the collapse of basic cable, viewership of The Daily Show has dipped to under 400,000 viewers. In Jon Stewart's final season with The Daily Show, it averaged 1.3 million viewers.

"Chris has been an amazing leader and partner who has helped me realize my dream of working not just in front of the camera, but also behind the scenes, producing content which now airs across the Paramount family," said Trevor Noah.
"I'm truly excited to see what the future holds."

The Daily Show airs weeknights at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central and is available the following morning on the Paramount Plus streaming service.

Trevor Noah is host, writer and executive producer of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, with Jen Flanz as showrunner, writer and executive producer, and Jill Katz as executive producer. Justin Melkmann is co-executive producer. Ian Berger, Max Browning, Pam DePace, Ramin Hedayati, David Kibuuka, David Paul Meyer, Zhubin Parang and Elise Terrell are supervising producers; and Jocelyn Conn, Jeff Gussow, Brittany Radocha, Shawna Shepherd and Beth Shorr are producers. Dan Amira is head writer and producer, with Lauren Sarver Means and Daniel Radosh as senior writers. The series is directed by David Paul Meyer. Ari Pearce and Matthew Parillo serve as executives in charge of production for Comedy Central. ■

Walmart is reportedly in discussions with Disney, Comcast and Paramount about adding a streaming component to Walmart Plus, the Amazon Prime-like membership service that offers customers free shipping for goods purchased over the internet. 

According to the New York Times, the talks have occurred in "recent weeks," but it's unclear as to whether the initiative would involve a new streaming video entity or merely a re-bundling of Disney Plus, Paramount Plus and Peacock. 

Also undeciphered: Any level of interest the media companies might have. 

Walmart Plus is offered to consumers for $12.95 and already includes perks like a free subscription to music streaming service Spotify for six months. 

As with Amazon Prime Video, Walmart is undoubtedly looking to add more value to its membership platform. It has strong relationships with the large media conglomerates dating back to the hot-selling days of DVDs back in the first half of the aughts. 

Walmart has a number of current-day partnerships with these companies, including an initiative launch last year, XClass TV, to rebrand Hisense smart TVs and power them with Comcast's TVOS. Those TV's come with a subscription to Peacock Premium baked in. 

However, streaming has proven tricky for Walmart. For example, the retail giant paid $100 million for TVOD service Vudu in 2010, then spent millions more in 2019 trying to add an AVOD component to the platform. 

Walmart ultimately gave up on that plan a year later and sold Vudu to Comcast. 

Nexstar Media Group’s long-simmering talks to acquire control of The CW network appear to be closer to an agreement, according to sources familiar with the situation.

The CW is a joint venture of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. Both of those companies are more focused on streaming than linear networks, while Nexstar, the largest owner of CW affiliates, is more focused on expanding broadcast audiences.

Talks have been going on about a deal since the beginning of the year. Sources indicated that the sides have gotten close enough that a deal could happen in July.

Also: Perry Sook Sees Nexstar Owning a Broadcast Network in the Future

None of the companies involved would comment on this story.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Nexstar is trying to negotiate a deal in which it would not pay any cash to acquire a 75% stake in the network. Nexstar would be absorbing the network’s substantial losses.

Also: The CW Stresses One-Brand Approach at Upfront Event

Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery would each retain a 12.5% stake in The CW, the WSJ said.

Most of the programming on The CW comes from studios owned by the parent companies. Lately those parents have been pushing programming for its potential off-net value in syndication and streaming.

Also: The CW Puts Primetime Shows, Seed Content on Single App

Nexstar would aim for programming that would drive ratings and help its stations' local newscasts. As The CW’s owner, Nexstar would not be limited to programming from Warner Bros. or Paramount, sources said.

Nexstar has been looking to grow its company by supplementing its station with other businesses. After buying Tribune Broadcasting, it turned the WGN America cable channel into the NewsNation news network. It has also acquired digital content companies including The Hill. ■

Faced with the prospect of having to punch up bland interviews with Paramount Global Chair Shari Redstone and CEO Bob Bakish, new New York Times media writer Benjamin Mullin turned to a reliably bombastic source, celebrity media analyst Richard Greenfield.

And the LightShed Partners company principal delivered, predicting that Paramount will have to merge or sell itself in the next five years in order to survive the media business' currently Darwinian playing field. 

“I don’t think there’s anybody who believes that in five years, this company won’t either have bought other things or become part of something larger,” Greenfield told the Times. “It’s eat or be eaten time.”

Paramount finished March with 62 million subscription streaming subscribers across its Paramount Plus and Showtime brands, but the conglomerate still isn't making money on SVOD, Greenfield noted. 

The Times' Memorial Day Weekend story fit nicely with the triumphant debut of Paramount theatrical title Top Gun: Maverick, which debuted to a powerful $124 million at the domestic box office, the biggest opener of star Tom Cruise's career

As the Times noted, Redstone and top-level Paramount Global management met with bankers in January to discuss possible merger targets. 

A potential tie-up was discussed for Comcast, with which Paramount already partners with in Europe. 

In the end, Redstone and Bakish decided to go it alone. 

“In many respects we continue to be the underdog, and that’s OK,” Bakish said. “But I think as time goes on, people will continue to increasingly see that Paramount is powerful.” ■

The Paramount upfront presentation at Carnegie Hall largely focused on its new streaming platform, but it was a broadcast staple that offered the event its theme. 60 Minutes, currently in its 54th season, provided the presentation’s framework.

“You may ask, why make 60 Minutes the theme for this year’s upfront?” asked JoAnn Ross, president and chief advertising revenue officer. “60 Minutes has informed America with bravery, style and sophistication” for a long, long time.

Upfront presentations tend to last a long, long time, but Ross promised an hour.

“Let’s start the clock,” she said, and 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley came out with the clock ticking.

Pelley spoke about how the company has deftly adapted to reach viewers, and users, wherever they may be. He then introduced late-night host Stephen Colbert. When Colbert was asked to present, he said, “I leapt at the chance…to read my contract and find out I had to.”

He spoke about the company name changes during his time on The Late Show, from CBS to ViacomCBS to Paramount, and “next week, whatever Elon Musk renames us.” 

Wayne Brady came out to host the game show Climb That Mountain!, with Tony Dokoupil, Nate Burleson and Nicole Byer as the contestants. Trivia questions about various Paramount components, be it Pluto TV and EyeQ, were asked. 

Upfronts 2022: Complete Coverage

60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl followed the game show, and spoke about reality TV, including The Real World, Survivor and RuPaul’s Drag Race. Paramount has “a portfolio of reality programs like no other on television,” said Stahl.  

Anchor Norah O’Donnell offered an interview on video with Tyler Perry, who has eight shows in the works at Paramount. “The relationship with Paramount has been incredible,” he said, noting the “immediate give-and-take in the relationship.”

Thirteen years after Perry was interviewed on 60 Minutes, “the reach of Tyler Perry’s work is larger than ever,” said O’Donnell. 

The cast of CBS comedy Ghosts came out for a little song and dance, with Ross turning up, in costume, a little too late for the number. 

James Brown spoke on video about live sports, with Tony Romo and Burleson weighing in as well, and Burleson teasing the next NFL game on Nickelodeon, Broncos versus Rams on Christmas. 

Jim Nantz popped up in Tulsa, where he’s covering the PGA Championship. “CBS Sports is synonymous with golf coverage,” he said. 

Gayle King of CBS Mornings introduced Kevin Costner and Kelly Reilly from Yellowstone. George and Tammy, about George Jones and Tammy Wynette, got a tease from Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon, and Sylvester Stallone spoke about Tulsa King, his project with Taylor Sheridan. “I love every day on the set,” he said. 

60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker spoke with BET CEO Scott Mills about the Content for Change initiative that began at BET, and expanded companywide. Content for Change pushes for more and better Black representation in television. Mills mentioned “the impact of media on our aspirations, our beliefs, our values,” and how the initiative can improve quality of life for many in America and beyond. 

Sir Patrick Stewart was next, speaking of his mission “to create innovative, diverse and engaging entertainment,” as a bevy of new programs rolled across the screen, including CBS newbies Fire Country and So Help Me Todd. 

ParamountUpfront.com offers a better peek at shows, Stewart shared. 

Vanessa Lachey of NCIS: Hawai’i shared the 2022-2023 schedule on CBS, and James Corden, who is departing The Late Late Show in 2023, came out to say goodbye. “It’s ten past 5,” he said, “so the 60 minutes thing didn’t work out, did it?”

Like his late-night colleague, he took a shot at the various corporate names during his time on CBS. “Whatever name they give us next week, I will absolutely love it,” Corden promised. 

Drew Barrymore then saluted Corden. “You burst onto your show like a comet and you lit up the world,” she said. 

LeAnn Rimes and Mickey Guyton performed a musical number, and Ross returned, apologizing for the presentation going long, and saying that any complaints can be emailed to James Corden. 

“Thank you for your partnership,” she said to the marketers in the room. ■

Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish’s total compensation dropped 49% to $20 million in 2021.

The big change in Bakish’s pay was in stock awards. In 2020, when the company was called ViacomCBS, Bakish received $16 million in stock awards.  

No equity-based awards were granted to any of Paramount's top execs in fiscal year 2021.

Top executives also did not receive bonuses for 2021. ■

Paramount said Paramount Plus’ new series Halo has become the most-watched series premiere in the streaming service's history in the U.S. and internationally.

The company did not disclose specific viewing figures.

The series is based on the popular xBox game Halo, which debuted in 2001. The game has sold 82 million copies worldwide and grossed more than $6 billion in total sales revenue.

Having a hit would give Paramount Plus a boost as it seeks to compete in the high-stakes, big-money competition among the streaming services looking to compete with Netflix.

Also: Paramount Plus Orders More ‘1883’ and New Taylor Sheridan Series ‘1932’

“Bringing Halo to life as a streaming series has been one of the most rewarding efforts for Paramount Plus to date and we could not be more thrilled at the massive fan response to the series’ debut,” said Tanya Giles, chief programming officer at Paramount Plus. “Along with our phenomenal partners at Showtime, 343 Industries and Amblin Television, we cannot wait for fans to experience more of this incredible universe.”  

The series stars Pablo Schreiber as the Master Chief, along with Natascha McElhone and Jen Taylor. The cast also features Bokeem Woodbine, Shabana Azmi, Natasha Culzac, Olive Gray, Yerin Ha Bentley Kalu, Kate Kennedy, Charlie Murphy and Danny Sapani.

Halo is produced by Showtime, in association with 343 Industries, along with Amblin Television. 

The first season of Halo is executive produced by Steven Kane, alongside Steven Spielberg, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey for Amblin Television in partnership with 343 Industries, Otto Bathurst and Toby Leslie for One Big Picture, and Kyle Killen and Scott Pennington for Chapter Eleven. Kiki Wolfkill, Frank O’Connor and Bonnie Ross serve as executive producers for 343 Industries. The series is distributed internationally by Paramount Global Content Distribution. ■

ViacomCBS said its direct-to-consumer business lost about $1 billion in 2021, and the company expects losses to grow by another $500 million in 2022.

During the company’s presentation to analysts Tuesday, CFO Naveen Chopra said the company expects DTC content expenses to grow to more than $6 billion in 2023 from $2.2 billion last year. 

“Given these Investments. We forecast D-to-C OIBITA [operating income before interest, taxes and amortization] losses will be greatest in 2023, but will improve in 2024 when our Global D-to-C businesses will start to see the benefits of our full content slate  including Paramount, pay one movies,” he said.

Also: ViacomCBS Changing Company Name to Paramount

“And longer-term our model suggests that the D to C segment will approach margins similar to our current TV media business,” he added.

The company said it expects to have $9 billion in streaming revenue by 2024, up from its previous forecast of $7 billion, which included $1 billion in digital advertising that moves to the company’s TV media segment. The increase will be fed by increased prices for subscribers and growth in advertising, Chopra said.

Streaming has been a big bet for ViacomCBS and other media companies as technology evolves and consumers cut the cable cord. Chopra said it is crucial for ViacomCBS to pivot to streaming because the company’s pay TV footprint represents 300 million households, while streaming will help the company’s potential reach more than double to more than 600 million broadband homes. The company is also looking to create plans for mobile-only customers, unlocking an even larger market.

Content spending helps build the business. Over the past three quarters, as content selection expanded on Paramount Plus, domestic subscribers spent more time with the service, and as they spent more time with the service, retention increased. “So does the lifetime value of a Paramount Plus subscriber,” he said.

In the fourth quarter, ViacomCBS added 9.4 million streaming subscribers. The vast majority of new subscribers were for Paramount Plus, but Showtime OTT also had record additions in the quarter, he said.

By the end of 2021, Paramount Plus had 32.8 million global streaming subscribers. The streaming service generated $1.3 billion in revenue in 2021, up 115% from the previous year. 

Global streaming revenue was up 50% to $1.3 billion in the quarter, with subscription growth up 84%.

ViacomCBS’s fourth-quarter net earnings were $2.06 billion, or $3.11 a share, compared to $$810 million, or $1.31 a share, a year ago. The earnings include $2.223 billion in net gains from asset sales.

Revenue rose 16% to $8 billion.

Ad revenue was up 1% to $2.6 billion and affiliate revenue rose 2% to 2.1 billion. ■

ViacomCBS – soon to be renamed Paramount – said it added 9.4 million global streaming subscribers in the fourth quarter.

CEO Bob Bakish said the quarter was the company’s best ever for adding subscribers and that 80% of the new subs joined Paramount Plus. The company said it now has more than 56 million subscribers.

Bakish said the company’s steaming business was ahead of schedule. He said the company didn’t expect subscribers to be at this level until next January and forecast that the company would reach its 2024 goals by the end of 2022.

Also: ViacomCBS Says DTC Business Lost $1 Billion During 2021

The company raised its guidance for Wall Street, saying it expects to have 100 million subscribers by 2024, up from previous guidance of 65 to 75 million. The forecast excludes the company's European joint venture with Comcast's Sky.

Bakish also said that the company’s free ad-supported streaming service Pluto TV added 10 million new monthly active users and now has a monthly audience of nearly 65 million active users.

He said Pluto had $1 billion in revenues for the year, which was five times the revenue it generated two years ago. 

Global streaming revenue grew 48% from last year  to $1.3 billion. Subscription revenue was up 84%.

Also: Paramount Plus Orders More Taylor Sheridan Series and Seasons 

Recent earnings reports have shown rises in streaming subscribers at major media companies including Disney and Comcast NBCUniversal. AMC said today it ended 2021 with 9 million subscribers across several streaming services.

The company also plans to change its Paramount Plus app making it easier for subscribers to also sign up for Showtime OTT. Starting this summer, U.S. subscriber to Paramount Plus will be able to upgrade their subscription to a bundle including Showtime. 

The Paramount Plus Essential tier plus Showtime will cost $11.99 a month. The Paramount Plus Premium Tier with Showtime will cost $14.99 a month.

Subscribers to both services will be able to watch both Paramount Plus programming and Showtime content through the Paramount Plus app. 

"When you're done watching Mayor of Kingstown, you'll be able to move immediately to the next season of Billions without ever leaving the Paramount Plus app," said Tom Ryan, president and CEO streaming at ViacomCBS. ■

ViacomCBS is changing its name to Paramount, the name of its legendary studio and the streaming service the company is betting its future on.

The new name was announced Tuesday during the company’s event for analysts.

In an internal memo to staffers, Bob Bakish, president & CEO, and Shari Redstone, non-executive chair of the board noted that it has been two years since the combination of Viacom and CBS and a year since the launch of Paramount Plus.

“An iconic global company deserves an iconic global name. One that reflects the power of our content; one that reflects our role as stewards of a rich heritage and as leaders in the future of entertainment,” they said. 

Also: ViacomCBS Adds 9.4 Million Streaming Subscribers in 4Q

“As Paramount, our name will reflect who we are, what we aspire to be, and all that we stand for. It will help advance our strategy of harnessing all our strength and breadth in building the businesses of tomorrow.  And it will capture the collective power of our global assets, from our amazing brands—CBS, Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, Nickelodeon, Smithsonian, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, Pluto TV and more— to our global reach and our diverse audiences. All of which adds up to Paramount being the pre-eminent home to, and producers of, the world’s greatest content," the memo said. 

During ViacomCBS's investor event on Tuesday, Redstone said the new brand brought her father, media mogul and Viacom and CBS controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone's vision to life. "One powerful company that creates content, that keeps audiences wanting more and Paramount was always at the core of that vision," she said.

Redstone said that the company is "making the right investments, in the right content in the right places" and that she is confident it will "deliver the return on investment you expect and you deserve."

Technically, the company’s name is Paramount Global, but the company will mainly refer to itself as Paramount. Its shares will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbols PARAA (class A common), PARA (Class B) and PARAP (preferred), effective February 17.

Here is the text of the company’s internal memo

Team, 

We could not be prouder of this incredible company. 

It has been one year since the spectacular launch of Paramount+ and two years since the successful merger of Viacom and CBS. In that time, we have shown the world what we knew from the start: that together, aligned around a shared vision and shared strategy, we create a whole that is far greater than the sum of its parts. 

This is an exciting moment in the history of our company. Our streaming business is growing fast—and going global. Our broad and varied portfolio of content is captivating audiences around the world. Our brands are firing on all cylinders. And as results from the fourth quarter and the whole of last year make clear, our momentum is accelerating. The size of the opportunity we see ahead is matched only by our determination to seize it. 

An iconic global company deserves an iconic global name. One that reflects the power of our content; one that reflects our role as stewards of a rich heritage and as leaders in the future of entertainment. 

With this in mind, as we’re announcing today at our investor event, ViacomCBS is becoming Paramount Global, or, more simply, Paramount.  

For more than a century, the name Paramount has been synonymous with great entertainment and industry leadership. It’s part of our history, as pioneers of the Golden Age of Hollywood. 

But as Paramount+ has made clear, it’s also about our bright future. 

And, not least, it’s an idea: a promise to be the best. 

As Paramount, our name will reflect who we are, what we aspire to be, and all that we stand for. It will help advance our strategy of harnessing all our strength and breadth in building the businesses of tomorrow.  And it will capture the collective power of our global assets, from our amazing brands—CBS, Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, Nickelodeon, Smithsonian, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, Pluto TV and more— to our global reach and our diverse audiences. All of which adds up to Paramount being the pre-eminent home to, and producers of, the world’s greatest content. 

We will succeed because we have the best team in the industry: all of you. This change in our name is a testament to the excellence you embody—to the evolution you’re leading, every single day. 

Thanks to your hard work and vision, we have never been more excited about the future of this company. Together, Paramount is on the ascent—and ready to reach new heights.  

Best, 

Bob and Shari ■

Paramount’s Coming 2 America, the long-awaited sequel to 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy classic Coming to America, will bypass theatrical distribution and debut directly on Amazon Prime Video, starting December 18, Variety reports. 

The entertainment trade said some terms of the deal still need to be worked out. But the pact is reportedly valued at around $125 million. And promotional deals attached to the production with McDonald’s and Crown Royal are said to be shifting over to some kind of Amazon integration. 

The Variety report is unclear as to whether Amazon secured merely North American rights, or if it has rights to stream Coming 2 America in each of its 240 global territories, as it does with Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat sequel, which debuts on the steaming service globally Oct. 23.

The original Coming to America grossed $128.2 million domestically in 1988 dollars, and it pulled in $288.8 million in a worldwide box office that isn’t nearly as developed as what exists today.

Paramount reportedly considered a premiere of Coming 2 America on its sibling SVOD platform, CBS All Access (soon to be Paramount Plus). But Amazon Studios and its chief, former Robert Greenblatt lieutenant Jennifer Salke, are reportedly paying aggressive money to haul in theatrical titles displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to Coming 2 America and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Amazon recently acquired another Paramount title originally slated for movie theaters, Tom Clancy adaptation Without Remorse, staring Michael B. Jordan. 

Notably, the Walt Disney Company this week signaled that it’s now prioritizing video streaming amid the indefinitely disrupted global theatrical market. 

Disney made what now appears to be a wise decision last month to domestically launch its live-action adaptation of animation hit Mulan as a premium $30 VOD offering to its Disney Plus subscribers. 

The film has only grossed $66.8 million at the international box office since debuting Sept. 8. But various estimates peg the gross from just Mulan’s domestic Labor Day weekend debut on Disney Plus at $33.5 million. In fact, research company 7Park Data went as far to suggest that Mulan pulled in as much as $261 million in its first two weeks on Disney Plus in the U.S. 

Also read: Disney Reorganizes to Focus on DTC Platforms

Regardless of the actual total, which Disney has yet to announce, the studio didn’t have to split revenue with theater chains. There was also the addition of subscribers, and brand prestige, for Disney Plus. 

Conversely, AT&T’s WarnerMedia division opted to forgo direct-to-streaming for Christopher Nolan summer blockbuster Tenet. The action thriller has grossed a strong $323.5 million in worldwide box office, with per-screen IMAX showings overseas breaking records. But scattershot theater openings domestically have allowed for only a $48.3 million North American opening for Tenet. And with COVID-19 cases trending upward in the U.S. once again, there's no timetable for the domestic exhibition industry to return to stability as it has in other regions ... like, notably, China.  

For comparison’s sake, the last time Nolan wrote and directed a non-superhero-themed summer tentpole for Warner Bros., 2010’s Inception starring Leonardo DiCaprio, it grossed $836.8 million worldwide and $292.6 million in North America, prior to lucrative home entertainment and TV release windows. 

As for Coming 2 America, it reunites much of the core cast from the original title, with Murphy reprising his Prince Akeem character who migrated from the fictional African nation of Zamunda to New York City to escape an arranged marriage and search for his own wife. 

In the sequel, Murphy is back in his home country, about to ascend to the throne, with James Earl Jones reprising his role as Akeem’s now ailing father, the king. Upon learning that he has a son back in New York, Murphy returns to Queens, alongside his loyal sidekick, Semmi (actor Arsenio Hall), attempting to line up an heir to his throne, as per the wishes of his dying father. 

The second week of January features a bevy of new and returning show premieres from cable networks and streaming services.

Paramount network on Jan. 15 will premiere 68 Whiskey, a new drama series chronicling army medics serving in Afghanistan, while Apple TV+ on Jan. 17 launches a new family-themed series Diary of a Future President.

On the returning series front, Netflix will launch the sixth season of its comedy series Grace and Frankie on Jan. 15, while the next day  Freeform will launch the third season of grown-ish.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting this week on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

Jan. 13 -- Ackley Bridge (dramedy) --Acorn TV

Jan. 13 -- The New Pope (drama) -- HBO

Jan. 15 -- Good Trouble (dramedy) -- Freeform

Jan. 15 -- The Magicians (returning series) -- Syfy

Jan. 16 -- Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (comedy) -- Freeform

Jan. 17 -- Endlings (sci-fi) -- Hulu

Jan. 17 -- Little America (drama) -- Apple TV+

Jan, 17 -- Sex Education (dramedy) -- Netflix

Jan. 17 -- Troop Zero (family) -- Prime Video

Jan. 19 -- Avenue 5 (comedy) -- HBO

Jan. 19 -- Curb Your Enthusiasm (returning series) -- HBO

The Justice Department has made it official, filing a motion with a district court to terminate the Paramount consent decrees, which prevent movie studios from owning theater chains, block booking (bundling films for sale to distributors), and more. 

It is asking the court for a two-year transition period for the block booking and circuit dealing (entering into a single license to cover all theaters in a theater circuit) decrees.  

Related: DOJ to Terminate Paramount Consent Decrees 

The Decrees are just a few of the 1,300 legacy judgments--this one dating from 1948--that the Justice Department is reviewing to see whether they should remain. 

Antitrust chief Makan Delrahim had signaled earlier in the week that DOJ wanted the decrees to end given the changing market for content distribution, including streaming, echoing that sentiment in announcing the motion Friday (Nov. 22). 

“The Paramount decrees long ago ended the horizontal conspiracy among movie companies in the 1930s and ‘40s and undid the effects of that conspiracy on the marketplace,” said Delrahim, assistant attorney of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Division has concluded that these decrees have served their purpose, and their continued existence may actually harm American consumers by standing in the way of innovative business models for the exhibition of America’s great creative films.” 

"New technology has created many different movie platforms that did not exist when the decrees were entered into, including cable and broadcast television, DVDs, and the Internet through movie streaming and download services," said Justice. 

The Paramount decrees, like other legacy antitrust judgments, have no sunset provisions. 

Epix said it has reached a carriage deal with Comcast that will make the premium channel available to X1 video customers early next year. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Epix was formed in 2009 by a trio of content providers – Viacom’s Paramount Pictures movie studio, Lionsgate Entertainment and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. But the service often struggled to obtain carriage in the early days, lost in the shuffle of more dominant players like Home Box Office, Showtime and Starz. Earlier this year, MGM bought out the other EPIX partners and continued its strategy to develop more original programming such as existing original series like Get Shorty, Berlin Station, Graves and, coming soon, The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair.

“Comcast’s Xfinity TV is one of the most innovative and powerful distribution platforms for entertainment content across the United States,” said MGM chairman and CEO Gary Barber said in a statement. “As we increase our investment in original series, expand content offerings and commit more resources to developing EPIX’s brand and appeal, we are excited to partner with Comcast and bring EPIX’s suite of premium content to their customers.”

With the Comcast deal, EPIX will be available live and on demand through the Xfinity Stream app to EPIX customers. The addition of Comcast’s 22 million subscribers will expand EPIX’s overall availability to about 70 million homes.  

“This agreement marks an incredible milestone for our company and provides EPIX with a launchpad to deliver our content to more consumers on every platform,” said EPIX executive vice president and general manager Monty Sarhan in a statement. “We’re extremely pleased to be in the Comcast universe.”

Epix president and CEO Mark Greenberg is departing the network after eight years at the helm.

Greenberg’s departure comes five months after the premium service was acquired by MGM – one of the founding owners of the service along with Lionsgate and Paramount. MGM chairman and chief executive officer Gary Barber announced Greenberg’s departure in a memo sent to staffers this morning.

RELATED: Epix Writes A Script For Growth

“As we have completed the integration of Epix into MGM, Mark Greenberg, the founding CEO of Epix, has decided to leave the company to pursue other opportunities in the media and entertainment industry,” Barber said in the memo. “Mark has been a driving force behind the success of the company and a pioneer in TV Everywhere, leading Epix to become the first cross-platform network and overseeing its programming expansion into original scripted series.”

Epix will be lead in the interim by Monty Sarhan, executive vice president, programming, strategy and enterprises.

Greenberg, who has served as Epix's president and CEO since it launched in 2009, said in a statement that this is the “right time to leave.”

“Founding Epix and building it over the past nine years into a thriving and successful business has been one of the great accomplishments of my professional life,” Greenberg said. “With the completion of the integration of Epix into MGM, I have decided that I am ready to move on to other interesting and exciting opportunities in the media and entertainment industry that will allow me to tap into my entrepreneurial spirit and build on my experience at Epix.”

The full internal memo from Gary Barber follows:
When we announced our acquisition of Epix earlier this year, we expressed our excitement about adding the fastest growing premium pay TV network to the MGM family of properties. 

As we have completed the integration of Epix into MGM, Mark Greenberg, the founding CEO of Epix, has decided to leave the company to pursue other opportunities in the media and entertainment industry.

Mark has been a driving force behind the success of the company and a pioneer in TV Everywhere, leading Epix to become the first cross platform network and overseeing its programming expansion into original scripted series.

In the interim, Epix will be managed by Monty Sarhan, executive vice president, programming, strategy & enterprises, and its talented operating team that is already in place. He will report to me for the time being with help and assistance from MGM's senior management team including Chris Ottinger, president, worldwide television distribution & acquisitions and Ken Kay, chief financial officer.

In closing, I want to thank Mark for building and leading the business over the last nine years. His dedication and commitment to the company during this integration process has been greatly appreciated. We wish him all the best in his endeavors.

We are confident in the future of Epix and look forward to making significant investments in premium content to further the company’s growth and success.