Report: Paramount+ Leaders Talking About Possible Team-Up with Peacock
As the subscriber gap continues to widen between Netflix and, well, every other streamer, are we about to witness a team-up between smaller players? Today, the Wall Street Journal reports Paramount leaders have spoken to Comcast brass about some kind of partnership or joint venture. That could mean a fusion of Paramount+ and Peacock.
At the end of 2023, Peacock had 31 million paying subscribers, while Paramount+ had 63 million subscribers at last report. For context, Netflix has 80 million subscribers in the United States and Canada alone, with another 180 million in other countries.
Both Paramount+ and Peacock have struggled to find their stride. Each offers some compelling content and great live sports options. Both offer a live feed of a major network. But you can’t say either has had a true streaming-only hit. As successful as “1883” or “Poker Face” or “Bel-Air” have been, those shows are a far cry from Netflix hits like “Wednesday” or “Squid Game.”
Paramount and Comcast are still trapped by their obligations to linear content. Each company owns several channels, all of which require at least some pipeline of new content. That budget doesn’t really help the streaming side of the business. While Comcast is bolstered by its internet and phone customers, Paramount has no other primary revenue stream. The business is in trouble, which is why it just announced a round of layoffs and the shutdown of its Noggin streaming platform. (We called that eventuality two years ago.)
The great benefit of Netflix is that every dollar in their budget goes to making their platform stronger — more original shows and movies, more technical improvements, more licensed content from other studios. The legacy media companies have too many mouths to feed. You need to run a news division and create theatrical movies and program a group of linear networks and somehow make a streaming platform attractive. Most media companies may struggle to do even one or two of those things well.
As we’re seeing, the companies performing the best are those with the fewest obligations. Paramount’s stock is down 46% over the last year, while Netflix shareholders have pocketed a 60% gain.
Even a content giant like Disney, which broke the bank to reel in the 20th Century Fox assets, has been struggling to shore up its streaming platforms. Domestic subscriptions for Disney+ have essentially flatlined for the past year. The streamer simply isn’t creating enough content to keep up with the audience’s appetite.
These trends are what led us to conclude the streaming wars are over, and Netflix is the winner. Even if Paramount+ and Peacock team up, it would likely result in a one-time boost as subscribers would be tempted by a giant content library. Since neither streamer has shown the ability to crank out a steady stream of new original hit shows, the result would just be a larger (more expensive) streamer with the same problems as their predecessors.
When you have genius executives like FX’s John Landgraf “sweating bullets” about finding the next big hit show, you can only imagine the panic of less-talented execs trying singlehandedly to save a streaming platform.
As Paramount continues to flail around for a business partner, it may make more sense for Comcast to let them die. A new Paramount owner may be willing to axe Paramount+ and simply sell off the library assets to the highest bidder. Comcast could help itself to whatever it wants.
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.