Skydance Reportedly Wanted to Break Up Paramount+’s Library to Create Multiple Streamers
A new CNBC report has more details about Skydance’s plans for Paramount+ if it had gotten control of the streamer.
Despite a belief last month that a deal was inevitable, Skydance Media is no longer in contention to purchase Paramount Global. Skydance has been the most serious potential buyer of Paramount as it has explored merger and acquisition opportunities this year, but in early June talks fell apart for good, and on Monday, CNBC reported details of what Skydance had in mind for the Paramount+ streaming platform, which could have meant the dividing of Paramount’s streaming assets in a rather naked play for enhanced revenues.
Key Details
- Skydance wanted to merge Paramount+ with other streaming services, and create new platforms out of the merged product.
- The idea would be to create distinct platforms for different types of content.
- Recent customer surveys indicate the scheme would have been incredibly unpopular among viewers.
CNBC reports that Skydance intended to merge Paramount+ with other streaming platforms if it were successful in its takeover attempt of Paramount Global. That’s not far off from the company’s current strategy; just this week, it was reported that the executives running the company’s operations are holding active talks with Warner Bros. Discovery and other firms about combining streamers.
But that’s where the similarities between the Skydance plan and the current Paramount strategy end. CNBC cites people familiar with the discussions, who say that Skydance wanted to merge Paramount+ with another service in order to create new streaming services built around central themes. For instance, the SHOWTIME content now found on the ad-free Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscription tier would be combined with the prestige TV library of a partner service to create a new ad-free product, while sports would be placed on an entirely different ad-supported service.
Making matters even more confusing for viewers, streaming originals would appear in different windows on both services. Customers could still buy the new streamers together as a bundle at a discounted price, but the end result would be the same: Paramount would separate its most popular content and house it on different platforms that would potentially require consumers to add multiple new streaming services.
How Would Skydance Plan for Paramount Streamers Gone Over with Audiences?
It’s hard to predict customer behavior with certainty, but there is plenty of evidence available to suggest that Skydance’s strategy for Paramount’s streaming services would have gone over like a lead balloon with viewers. The current trend in streaming is bundling, and more and more services are showing a willingness to combine in order to offer their services at a discounted rate. Recent data from Antenna shows that such bundles can reduce churn by 60% or more.
Perhaps the most damning data against Skydance’s plan for Paramount+ comes from a recent survey fielded by Accenture. It found that 56% of viewers are already frustrated by having to pay for multiple streaming services to get all the content they want to watch, and 66% find it inconvenient to have to enter login credentials repeatedly to watch different titles.
The U.S. streaming marketplace is already packed with more subscription-based services than it can support, and even with the declines of cable there won’t be enough new customers to keep them all going in the future. The most likely outcome for the industry is two to three Netflix-sized streamers with content from multiple companies, and it’s hard to see how Skydance’s strategy would have fit in with that outcome.
There’s no faulting Skydance for thinking creatively about what it would have done with Paramount’s streaming assets had it gained control of the company. But its plan would almost certainly have been wildly unpopular with audiences, who are already having enough trouble trying to find the shows and movies they want to watch on streaming platforms.
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.