ViacomCBS (VIAC) Inks Content Distribution Deal With Comcast

ViacomCBS VIAC and Comcast CMCSA division Comcast Cable recently entered into a distribution agreement per which the former’s full portfolio of channels will be available to the latter’s Xfinity customers.

Comcast’s Xfinity customers, through their X1 and Flex devices, can now avail CBS Television Network, BET, CBS Sports Network, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Pop TV, Smithsonian Channel, SHOWTIME, and streaming services Paramount+, Pluto TV and SHOWTIME OTT.

ViacomCBS is trying to capture market share through partnerships and a strong content portfolio. The company’s partnership with CJ ENM enables co-productions for original films and series, and content licensing and distribution across ViacomCBS’ and CJ ENM’s leading streaming services.

As part of the deal, Paramount+ is set to debut in South Korea in 2022 as an exclusive bundle with CJ ENM’s streaming service, TVING. This will mark ViacomCBS’ first entry into an Asian market.

This Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company partnered with Comcast to launch a European streaming service in 2022, called Sky Showtime.

ViacomCBS Inc. Price and Consensus

ViacomCBS Inc. Price and Consensus

ViacomCBS Inc. price-consensus-chart | ViacomCBS Inc. Quote

The multi-year agreement includes the extended carriage of ViacomCBS’ portfolio of pay-TV channels such as Showtime, Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon. Sky Showtime will have more than 10,000 hours of content and include all new and old releases of the companies.

ViacomCBS division ViacomCBS Networks International also acquired a majority stake in Fox TeleColombia and Estudios TeleMexico from The Walt Disney Company DIS.

The acquisition, which provides VCNI with complete access to the studio operations of FoxColombia and Estudios TeleMexico in Mexico and Colombia, will improve ViacomCBS’ capabilities to produce Spanish-language content.

It will additionally provide ViacomCBS with complete access to FoxColombia’s and Estudio TeleMexico’s robust content portfolio. The content will boost ViacomCBS’s streaming platforms Paramount+ and Pluto TV, along with its linear networks, globally.

Stiff Competition Hurt Prospects

ViacomCBS is suffering from stiff competition. Paramount+ faces stiff competition from Netflix NFLX, Comcast’s Peacock, Disney’s Disney+ and HBO Max.

Netflix is still dominating the streaming market. In third-quarter fiscal 2022, Netflix added 4.38 million global paid subscribers compared with 2.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Netflix expects to add 8.50 million subscribers in the fourth quarter, raising the total number of global streaming subscribers to 222.06 million, indicating 9% year-over-growth.

Comcast is benefiting from an increasing broadband subscriber base and a growing momentum in the wireless business. Additionally, its streaming service, Peacock, gained significant traction amid the coronavirus-led increased media consumption.

Disney recently revealed that it will increase its total content budget by $8 billion year over year, reaching a total of $33 billion in 2022. The decision was based on the intention to support its direct-to-consumers services, which primarily include Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+.

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