Two of the biggest entertainment events of the weekend could was the Paramount Plus exclusive: Oprah’s long-awaited interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, and Eddie Murphy’s eagerly awaited Upcoming 2 America. Instead, the former is now only available on CBS’s website (for free), and the latter streams exclusively on Amazon.
For a company whose executives only have the vital importance of leaning towards streaming, Paramount Plus launched within days of the interview and film and did not find the way to one or the other – or both , ideally – available on request. -crappy worthy.
One absence is more understandable than the other. Harpo (Oprah’s production company) did not make the video-on-demand rights available to ViacomCBS, The edge learned. The interview was available at Paramount Plus as live programming, but there is no repeat available for subscribers.
According to ViacomCBS, their interview became the most played-out event outside of NFL games and the Super Bowl, but without any context, the statement offers no accurate measurement. The interview also received an average of 17.1 million linear viewers on Sunday (an impressive number that television appointments are increasingly becoming a relic with each new streaming service). Based on the figure and the conversation on social media, it was a pretty big deal.
ViacomCBS actually did pretty well, even without the interview on Paramount Plus. According to the article, the special brought in about $ 325,000 for a 30-second ad Los Angeles Times, and now plays ad-supported on CBS’s website and app. (The rights to something that is broadcast as a digital video on a free website, and the rights to have it longer than an exclusive title on a streaming service, are different.) This means that the interview on another streaming service may end up. , but the CBS digital website will have the interview for 30 days. All of this is ideal for CBS ‘traditional television industry, but not good for a company that has spent the past year on the importance of its brand new streaming platform.
As Vulturesay Kathryn VanArendonk tweeted, “Imagine that you start a streaming service, have a very popular interview available the same week, only through your streaming service, and that the interview then disappears from your platform as soon as it is broadcast.”
It’s a short-term sacrificial game. Clearly, ViacomCBS would like the streaming rights to send subscribers to Paramount Plus. But ViacomCBS did not have the upper hand. If CBS had passed, Harpo would rather have gone to ABC (Disney) or NBC (Comcast). Plus, based on a quick Google Trends search and Twitter browsing, people did sign up for Paramount Plus through the free trial run. The question is whether people will stay after the first seven days.
Remember, the key to understanding the streaming philosophies of most companies is exciting new content that engages subscribers, but it’s a favorite TV series and movies that get people paying month after month. This is what makes the decision not to wear Upcoming 2 America, the sequel to Eddie Murphy Come to America, even more confusing.
Some important contexts to consider: ViacomCBS sold the film to Amazon in October during a period in which the company sold a number of its films while theaters were closed or operating at limited capacity. Trial of the Chicago 7 and Lovebirds both are to Netflix and Paramount earns between $ 75 and $ 85 million for both. Paramount also sells Without remorse to Amazon, next door Upcoming 2 America.
For several of the films, it made sense. CBS All Access was not a major investment for ViacomCBS compared to Paramount Plus, and the company had to earn revenue for movies that just sat on a shelf. The majority of these movies also appear before the launch of Paramount Plus. If the original intention was to release Upcoming 2 America between mid-December and January, why not just move it back to March and make it a debut title?
Upcoming 2 America was released the same weekend as Paramount Plus. It could be used to bring in subscribers, such as A Quiet Place II and Mission Impossible 7, which left movie theaters earlier and landed just 45 days after release on Paramount Plus. Instead of taking advantage of the film, ViacomCBS drew attention to the competition with Amazon. Not having the movie is one reason for people to sign up for Paramount Plus.
As one former CEO tells in a competitive studio The edge, “Paramount has been dysfunctional for 15 years, but … I’m speechless about how awkward and stupid Paramount was.”
Oh, and in terms of where Oprah’s interview with Meghan and Harry could end after everything has been said and done? Keep an eye on Discovery Plus. Oprah has an interest in the company and OWN is part of the Discovery family. That’s just the thing Discovery Plus wants.