The Showtime linear pay-TV channel and the premium tier of Paramount+ are set to merge and will be rebranded as “Paramount+ With Showtime.”
Alex Weprin for The Hollywood Reporter:
In connection with the changes, executives warned of likely layoffs and changes to programming to follow in the coming weeks.
Paramount CEO Bob Bakish announced the move in a memo to staff Monday afternoon, confirming rumors that have been brewing for some time.
Other changes, like the pricing and plan for merging accounts for people with both Showtime and Paramount+, will also come in the next few weeks.
Another area that will see notable changes is in programming.
In a memo of his own, McCarthy touted the “complementary” audiences of Showtime and Paramount+, while adding that the company plans to lean into shows that tightly associated with Showtime’s “brand strengths and content filters,” calling out programs like Yellowjackets, Billions, Dexter and The Chi.
The shift in business strategy comes as Paramount seeks to create a stronger hand in streaming as it tries to compete with the likes of Netflix, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery.
MacDailyNews Take: Consolidation.
Check out the full memos to staff in the full article here.
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Great. more corporate conglomeration. Just what we needed about now. 🙄🙄
They must have used Apple’s product-namers.
OMG! They really “rebrand” it: “Paramount+ WITH Showtime” ?!!
Was there not one person in the room who raised their hand and said, “Um, why don’t we just call it “Paramount+Showtime” ?…
Do I have to do EVERYONE’s job for them?!
🤦🏻♂️
“Paramount+” is Paramount’s streaming service. “Paramount+Showtime” would suggest some kind of parity between the parent production company (Paramount) and the subsidiary tv channel (Showtime). Though clunky, the current name is clear about adding Showtime to the streaming service and not something else that would undermine their brand.
Bad naming is often not because of a lack of creativity but due to increasingly complicated legal and licensing agreements.
Now just need Apple to absorb Paramount+.
Am I the only one? When Netflix first came out, I tried to watch as many online movies as I could. I later added other services (Prime, HBO Max) . . . But at some point I got “sick of watching TV” . . . currently I am spending a lot more time doing activities other than sitting in front of a TV — and I don’t feel like I’m “missing out” on anything.
The Nomenclature Committee is working overtime…
I’ll stay with them as long as they keep making new Star Trek shows.
If they don’t, then I’m out.