Paramount Global, the American Conglomerate, has announced a merger of its two popular flagship services, streaming platform Paramount Plus and cable network Showtime TV. This move comes at a critical time in the streaming service business, where many providers face difficulty gaining and retaining subscribers. As a result, many streaming companies have been forced to re-evaluate their business strategy and better position themselves against competitors or face dwindling profits.
According to a 2022 Paramount Plus revenue report, this streaming service reported steady growth in its global subscriber numbers and, consequently, in its annual earnings. Unfortunately, this rise didn’t reflect in their stock prices as they reportedly fell by approximately 9% as of 2022’s last quarter. Showtime TV subscription has also steadily risen over the previous few years, but their base and total earnings are far behind those of Paramount.
This news has elicited mixed reactions from fans, with some welcoming the move while leaving others concerned that the merger may lead to the cancellation of several popular shows as Paramount strives to retain a healthy financial projection. Typically, such moves are followed by shedding dead weight. It’s not yet clear which popular shows will face the ax. For now, we can only wait for more news from either network.
Reasons For the Merger
According to Paramount’s announcement, the merger’s objective is to boost the streaming service’s market profile by expanding its global reach. The move will also help Paramount diversify its service by offering several streaming services in genres like sports, news, premium and original content, picture movies, and linear channels. While the obvious takeaway is that Paramount benefits from the merger, Showtime is also set to benefit by gaining incremental value and broader reach with the possibility of more linear customers.
Most of Showtime’s content leans towards mature themes, meaning they have gaps in targeting specific demographics. This is where Paramount comes in. It has a more diverse content selection that could fill the target market gaps that Showtime is facing. Combining their services is a win-win situation because they’ll have more resources to promote titles and a more extensive base for their shows.
Another apparent reason for the merger is stiff competition from other streaming service powerhouses. Given the prevailing global economic situation, service providers have resulted in various customer appeal tactics, such as reducing subscription plans to maintain their customer base. A Paramount plus and Showtime TV merger is an excellent way to provide better customer value in content diversity. Combining the financial muscle may also lead to better subscription plan pricing, but this has yet to be confirmed.
What To Expect
As expected, there will be changes in content listing on both platforms. Paramount announced programming changes in underperforming shows, implying cancellation and removals. The network hopes to boost Showtime hits and up its promotion budget. Paramount didn’t mention any changes in their leadership team, but significant mergers like this often result in the shuffling of financial and operational teams.
One of the adjustments both networks made after soft launching their merger in the last quarter of 2022 was to create a subscription bundle. They changed some titles but still marketed the services as separate. While there’s no news of dropping popular shows, Paramount has canceled Showtime’s American Gigolo, Three Women, and Let the Right One In. Three Women was especially promising, and the main actors had also begun promoting the show. Unfortunately, it’s one of the titles Paramount has decided to remove. The network is also likely to pull episodes of the show that have already aired.
The silver lining is that Paramount has yet to announce changes or cancellations of big-time Showtime hits like Billions, Dexter, or Yellowjackets. The shows might rebrand to Paramount plus, but cancellations are unlikely because they command a huge fan base.
Other changes to expect are in subscription plan pricing. Currently, Paramount’s basic monthly plan costs $4.99, and Showtime’s $10.99. Their subscription bundle, launched in 2022, offering content from both networks, starts at $11.99 monthly. Eventually, customers can expect an increase in titles in the Paramount service library and even an app combining content from both services.
What’s New on Paramount?
Loyal Paramount followers may recall that the service underwent a rebrand in early 2021, where they traded their former name CBS All Access, for the more appropriate Paramount Plus. This rebrand came with additional announcements, including promotions, demotions, and increased content. Regarding the current merger, not much has changed with the network’s content. You can still enjoy all-time hits like Yellowstone, the Star Trek show collection, and CBS shows like NCIS, Ghosts, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert exclusively on their streaming service.
Nickelodeon hits like Spongebob Squarepants, and Paw Patrol is also on the network. Other content you can enjoy includes the latest releases like Top Gun Maverick and Devotion and classics like Indiana Jones. Sports fans have NFL games, soccer, basketball, and much more. Those looking for diversity have over 40,000 movies and TV shows from top networks like MTV, Paramount Pictures, BET, Comedy Central, CBS, and many more.
What’s New on Showtime?
Showtime has kept its library the same even after the merger. You can still enjoy several Showtime originals like Billions, George & Tammy, The L Word, Dexter, Penny Dreadful, and others. In addition, this streaming service is also home to several documentaries, comedy specials, movies, news, and sports channels. According to initial merger reports, Paramount intends to move some titles to Showtime, but this is yet to be implemented.
Key Takeaways
With the onboarding on Showtime, Paramount is set to be a bigger and better streaming service with a lot to offer. One of the things to look forward to is the launching of new originals. The merger’s main priority is to increase Paramount’s global appeal with better services. Part of these changes includes new shows. Fans can also expect an expansion of Paramount’s ad-supported service, Pluto TV’s content library. This free service has shown growth potential since launching. In 2022, Pluto TV had approximately 2.4 monthly active users. These numbers are projected to grow after the merger is complete.
Even though a subscription bundle for both streaming services exists, Paramount expects to tailor-make an independent app with a renewed library, services, and channels. Prices for the app or service will be announced as news on the merger continues to stream in.
After the merger, Paramount will be better positioned to boost profits by leveraging the entire collection to show better customer value than its competitors. They may also adjust current prices to increase the appeal of their new streaming service. Overall, we hope Paramount delivers everything this Showtime merger promises, from new content to better prices for their various streaming platforms.
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