An industry insider says Paramount Global’s future revenue plans “have no room for Showtime anymore”
“This should be the curtain call for Showtime,” David Offenberg, an associate professor of finance at Loyola Marymount University focusing on the entertainment business, told TheWrap. “As Paramount Global works to rebrand under the Paramount name and focus on future revenue streams, there is no longer room for Showtime.”
In fact, Showtime exists as an anomaly to its parent company: a linear premium cable channel that has a record of producing prestige hits such as “Billions” and “Yellowjacket” under the Nevins, but it has seen twin forces in subscribers. Has seen a steady decline. of cord-cutting and streaming. are already report company Officials are considering how to merge Showtime with Paramount+. (A representative for the company did not respond to requests for comment for this story.)
“Showtime lost half a million subscribers” [in the first quarter]It’s not a good sign in terms of its standalone strength,” said Tom Noonan, a former network and studio executive who served as executive producer on the Oscar-winning film “Crash.”
Meanwhile, the company reported in August that Paramount+ has grown to 43.3 million subscribers worldwide and 64 million total across all its streaming platforms, including Showtime, Noggin and BET+. There was no personal breakdown for Showtime.
Noting the downward trend for linear channels like Showtime, Offenberg said, “Showtime content should soon be fully incorporated into the Paramount+ service so that Paramount+ can stand a chance to compete in the emerging streaming landscape.”
But like many Hollywood groups, there are risks of shutting down Showtime’s linear networks too quickly as they continue to generate declining, if substantial, revenue. And Paramount could use the proceeds even as CEO Bob Bakish slashed the company’s debt from $19.2 billion to $16.4 billion as of June 30, after completing the merger of CBS and Viacom in December 2019.
Under Nevins’ watch, the premium cable channel remains a highly valued asset under Paramount+, which describes Noonan as “premium R-rated entertainment” to attract subscribers.
But without Nevins, would Paramount be willing to invest more in bold content for Showtime than building the Paramount+ brand? “We live in a hit-driven business, and things change,” Noonan said. “To make hits, you must have a budget for failures. Your ‘Squid Game’, or your ‘Succession,’ requires 10, 12 big swings, you must have a strong budget to play, otherwise It makes every single step life or death.
Paramount+ is more a mass-market platform than Showtime, where Nevins championed award-winning shows like “Homeland,” “Dexter,” “Ray Donovan” and the “Twin Peaks” revival. In fact, the Amherst-educated Nevins may have seemed like a strange man in the current Paramount Global executive culture under CEO Bob Bakish.
“There’s an overwhelming group of testosterone velociraptors out there,” a person with knowledge of Paramount Global Culture told TheWrap, adding that the presence of so many “powerful bros” at the top added additional stress to Old Regime officials like Nevins. can produce. In addition to Bakish, who has served as president and CEO of Paramount Global since 2019, two other executives benefit from Nevins’ departure: Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of MTV Entertainment Group, and Keith Cox, head of Paramount Networks. Under the new structure, Showtime’s network business will run under McCarthy’s leadership, while Tom Ryan will handle Showtime’s streaming operations.
“It has its roots – delayed by the pandemic – being passed on to replace Nevins” [former CBS CEO Leslie] Moonves,” entertainment analyst Jeff Wlodarzak told TheWrap in an email. (Moonves was ousted as CBS chief in 2018 following sexual harassment allegations, which allowed Viacom CEO Bob Bakish to take over when CBS and Viacom merged again.)
Still, Nevins’ exit allows Paramount Global to continue to shift its content strategy — and investment — from linear channels like Showtime to full-on streaming. “When you have a major talent decide to move away from managing one of these places, it usually indicates some form of contraction versus expansion,” Noonan said. “It could send a signal that they expect to retain these brands with less firepower and possibly lower budgets.”
And as the smallest Hollywood studio, Paramount Global faces some tough challenges leading up to the increasingly competitive streaming wars. “Showtime — and Paramount+ — are trying to compete against the massive players in streaming, which is not going to be very easy,” Wlodarzak said.
As for Nevins, he may just be the latest top industry executive to have decided to dodge a high-stress inspection post to focus on the content production that is his passion. “Or, who knows, maybe do an NFT company — which seems to be the craze right now — and make a lot of money from it,” joked Brian Sullivan, a partner at Early Sullivan Wright Giger & McRae, which focuses on entertainment. and investment.
