Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish mentioned the Disney-Charter carriage dispute took a “notable” monetary toll on many pay-TV stakeholders, however he touted his efforts to “modernize” the corporate’s distribution relationships for the streaming period.
Speaking on the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Tech Conference, Bakish mentioned final Friday was “obviously a notable day for the industry.” That was the primary buying and selling day after 18 Disney cable networks and eight ABC stations went darkish on Charter’s Spectrum TV service. It introduced a collective $15 billion hit to the market worth of quite a few programmers and operators, Bakish estimated, because the carriage deadlock “was interpreted as a negative” by traders. Nevertheless, he continued, “all companies are not of the same point of view” in relation to co-ordinating their efforts throughout linear TV, streaming and different traces of enterprise.
While there was appreciable angst about whether or not Charter, the No. 2 U.S. cable operator, will truly observe by means of on its risk to “move on” from the video enterprise, Bakish mentioned he has lengthy been targeted on future-proofing Paramount. He took the reins as Viacom’s CEO 4 years earlier than its 2019 merger with CBS, inheriting a distribution mess from predecessor Philippe Dauman, whose infamously rigid negotiating model alienated the corporate from quite a few main distributors.
“We started thinking about the transformation of our company going back seven years, probably,” Bakish recalled, with an emphasis on “working with distributors in that regard to modernize the way we do business.” Echoing feedback earlier within the day on the identical stage by Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, Bakish mentioned the carriage dispute “didn’t surprise us” given the inherent balancing act required by each ends of the pay-TV twine.
He pointed to co-marketing agreements solid with “every major distributor” within the U.S. for streaming providers Paramount+ With Showtime and Pluto TV. Co-marketing is a matter on the core of the Disney-Charter tangle, with the latter accusing Disney of wanting it to cost prospects twice for a similar content material (a characterization disputed by Disney). Internationally, Paramount additionally distributes streaming providers through “hard bundles” with suppliers like Sky or Canal Plus, providing “zero subscriber acquisition costs,” albeit decrease common income per consumer, Bakish added.
Deals in place for Paramount+ With Showtime will allow linear subscribers to the premium service to achieve no-fee entry to streaming app login credentials. That setup is “along the lines of what Charter was talking about” in its negotiations with Disney, he added. “We thought of this a while ago. We were specifically doing business that way. … We see that as accretive to our financial model and we see it as a natural evolution of the business to give consumers choice.”
Bakish added, “I would argue that not everyone is doing that. And when you look at what’s going on in the marketplace, you should ask yourself that question.”
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