Paramount, Charter Announce New Deal to Give Customers Free Streaming Services
The deal is remarkably similar to the one Charter agreed to with Disney in 2023.
Paramount Global has just crossed a big item off its to-do list. The company announced this week that it had agreed to a new carriage deal with Charter Communications, the second-largest cable provider in the United States. The deal will keep Paramount-owned channels on Spectrum TV plans, and will also see Spectrum TV customers gain free access to Paramount’s streaming services as well!
Key Details:
- The multi-year deal will allow Spectrum TV customers to continue watching CBS, MTV, and other Paramount-owned networks.
- Paramount+ and BET+ will become available free to Spectrum TV Select and Mi Plan Latino customers in the coming months.
- The deal highly resembles Charter’s 2023 agreement with Disney, which saw Spectrum TV customers gain access to Disney+ and ESPN+.
The new deal will keep Paramount channels like the CBS broadcast network, as well as cable channels like BET, MTVdy Central, MTV, Paramount Network, and more available on Spectrum TV plans for multiple years to come. As one of the biggest cable channel distributors in the United States, reaching a new agreement with Charter was critical for Paramount.
The deal will also see Spectrum TV Select and Mi Plan Latino customers gain free access to Paramount+ Essential and ad-supported BET+ in the next few months. In addition, Spectrum TV customers who get the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME channel as part of their plan will continue to be able to log into the on-demand Paramount+ with SHOWTIME service at no extra cost.
“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, EVP of Programming Acquisition for Charter.
“Continuing to build on our new distribution framework with the addition of Paramount+ Essential and BET+ Essential, joining the Paramount+ with Showtime service for Paramount+ with Showtime linear customers and others like Disney+, ESPN+, ViX, Max for HBO customers, Tennis Channel Plus, and numerous regional sports networks’ direct-to-consumer apps for customers of our regional sports networks, 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 continued.
Getting free access to Paramount-owned streaming services is a boon for Spectrum TV customers, but Charter executives think of that as standard operating procedure these days. The company first employed this strategy with Disney in 2023, insisting that the House of Mouse give its customers free access to Disney+ so they wouldn’t be unfairly charged twice to watch Disney content. A nasty dispute ensued, but Disney eventually relented, agreeing to a deal that granted free access to ESPN+ and Disney+ to Spectrum TV customers, and saw several lesser-watched Disney-owned channels pulled from Spectrum airwaves.
What Does the Deal Mean for Paramount’s Sale Process?
The Spectrum carriage deal is an important step for Paramount Global as it tries to sort out its future. The company is still wading through merger and acquisition opportunities and has most recently engaged with Sony and its private equity partner regarding a deal in that vein.
At first, Sony and Apollo’s bid to acquire Paramount was intended to embrace the entire company. But that $26 billion all-cash offer broke down as Paramount and Sony/Apollo got further along in their discussions, as regulatory concerns and other factors prompted the two potential buyers to narrow their pursuit to Paramount’s TV and movie studios, as well as its Hollywood real estate.
Sony and Apollo would likely divest themselves of Paramount-owned channels and streaming services if they acquired the company, but the new Spectrum deal would show prospective buyers that the channels still have viable reach, and are popular enough for major distributors to want to keep carrying them. If the deal with Sony and Apollo falls through and Paramount has to continue on its own, the Spectrum deal will still provide a crucial audience segment for its channels, and will also allow Paramount to collect ad revenues and a wholesale rate for all the Spectrum customers who sign up for free Paramount+ plans.
Spectrum executives get to sleep a little easier knowing that Paramount’s M&A process isn’t for them to resolve. They’ve locked up the company to a new multi-year carriage deal, which will see Paramount+ and BET+ become available to Spectrum TV Select customers within the next few months.
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and more. The lineup includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.