Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Friday, February 16th, 2024

Another day, another media merger rumor

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, February 16th, 2024.

PROGRAMMING NOTES
I'm back at home after ten days at the TCAs, and as much as I learned there, I'm happy to get back to a more "normal" newsletter.

One consequence of meeting a lot of new people is that it left me very inspired. It was great to hear how many people read this newsletter and find my point of view really unique and helpful.

Which is my way of mentioning that it is your support that helps make this newsletter possible. It also helps support trips like to the TCA Press Tour, which I pay for myself. 

If you are interested and able to upgrade to a paid subscription - whether it's a monthly or annual plan - I would be very grateful. There are a lot of newsletter and web sites out there asking for money. I appreciate all of your support, whether you have a free or paid subscription.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER MERGER RUMOR
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Comcast and Paramount Global had recently discussed the possibility of uniting their Peacock and Paramount+ streaming services in some kind of a partnership or joint venture. 

The story doesn't provide a lot of details and in fact makes a point of saying these talks were very preliminary and more general in nature.

Still, that didn't stop lots of outlets today from cranking out pieces declaring the idea was a natural and that it somehow was another step towards the inevitable "great cable re-bundling," whatever the heck that means.

Since we don't have any real details of what a deal between the two services would look like in the real world, I'll just say that I think it's extremely unlikely we'll see Paracock Plus anytime soon.

Strategically, it's not clear to me what the upside of a partnership or even merger between the two services would be. As we have learned in the past, size is not the primary reason why a streaming service is financially successful. Especially - as is the case with Peacock and Paramount Plus - most of the subscriber base is located in North America.

And any partnership or merger idea doesn't answer the primary question any such proposal should be able to address: what problem does this solve?

Both services are expected to be at least marginally profitable in the next couple of years. And a partnership or merger wouldn't improve that financial outlook. Especially given that money would have to be spent to freshly market and rebrand any combined effort.

I don't see how it would help with the subscriber churn rate, a problem both services continue to struggle with. I suppose a combined service might be able to spend a bit less on original content. Although in both cases, the bulk of the content spend is devoted to sports rights.

Sports might be the one reason I can see for the two services to work together, especially with rumors of a Warner Bros. Discovery/ESPN/Fox partnership on a proposed dedicated sports app. Paramount and Comcast currently control the bulk of what is left of the major sports media rights in the U.S. with a heavy emphasis on the NFL. Aggregating the sports offerings from each service - but integrating them directly into the existing user interface of Peacock and Paramount+ - could both provide additional licensing fees while also reducing costs.

That seems a more likely scenario than some grand "cable rebundling app." It's just a lot less sexy to talk about.

ON THE OTHER HAND
It is worth noting that there is a precedent outside the United States for a Comcast/Paramount Global partnership and if this is what the two companies have been considering, it could prove interesting.

Paramount+ launched in early 2021 and was available in the United States, Australia, Canada, Latin America, the Nordic countries and the the Middle East (as a paid TV channel).

But later that year, Comcast signed a deal with Paramount to launch a joint streaming service called SkyShowtime, which would feature content from both companies, as well as a small slate of original productions. And the service is now available across 22 countries in Europe. SkyShowtime also announced this week that like some of its biggest competitors, it is launching an ad-supported version of its service.

So could the two companies launch a similar combined service here in the United States? I won't say that its impossible, but there are some licensing and affiliate complications that make the idea much more difficult to pull off in North America. And I think it's worth noting that while SkyShowtime is widely available in Europe, it's not available anywhere else. Making me think the service is more the answer to a regional business issue than a worldwide solution.

And a U.S. version of SkyShowtime wouldn’t really change the reality on the ground for either company. SkyShowtime happened in Europe because Comcast decided it wasn’t going to be in standalone app business and combining with Paramount gave Comcast a home for its content. None of that applies here in the U.S.

ODDS AND SODS
* Jaime Camil (Jane the Virgin, Schmigadoon!) has joined the cast of NBC’s Lopez vs. Lopez for season two.

* The syndicated game show Person Place or Thing has been renewed for a second season and is also moving production to Atlanta.

* Who will be the new film head at Netflix? You won't learn much from this grab-bag of rumors, vague analyst comments and references to Michael Ovitz.

* Tait Blum (Home Team) has joined the cast of the upcoming Apple TV+ series The Last Frontier.

WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16TH:
* Blue Bloods Season Premiere (CBS)
* Comedy Chaos Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Einstein And The Bomb (Netflix)
* Fire Country Season Premiere (CBS)
* Life & Beth Series Premiere (Hulu)
* Kevin Hart's Muscle Car Crew (The Roku Channel)
* Rhythm + Flow Italy Series Premiere (Netflix)
* River (Asian Crush)
* Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin (Apple TV+)
* SWAT Season Premiere (CBS)
* The Abyss (Netflix)
* The Grand Tour: Sand Job (Prime Video)
* The Dynasty: New England Patriots (Apple TV+)
* The Proof Is Out There Season Premiere (History)
* This Is Me....Now: A Love Story (Prime Video)
* Totally Funny Animals Series Premiere (The CW)
* Totally Funny Kids Series Premiere (The CW)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17TH, 2024:
* An American In Austen (Hallmark)
* Backroad Truckers Series Premiere (Weather Channel)
* County Rescue Series Premiere (Great American Family)
* FAST: Home Rescue Season Premiere (Weather Channel)
* Selena And Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them (Oxygen)
* The Beach House Murders (Lifetime)

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18TH, 2024:
* All Creatures Great And Small Season Finale (PBS)
* American Idol Season Premiere (ABC)
* BAFTA Film Awards 2024 (Britbox)
* CSI Vegas Season Premiere (CBS)
* Deadman's Curse Series Premiere (Weather Channel)
* Last Week Tonight With John Oliver Season Premiere (HBO)
* Monsieur Spade Season One Finale (AMC/Acorn)
* Naked & Afraid Season Premiere (Discovery)
* People's Choice Awards (NBC/E!/Peacock)
* Romance In Hawaii (UP tv)
* The Equalizer Season Premiere (CBS)
* The Man In The Guesthouse (Lifetime)
* The Simpsons Spring Premiere (Fox)
* Timber Titans Series Premiere (Weather Channel)
* Tournament Of Champions Season Premiere (Food)
* United States of Scandal With Jake Tapper Series Premiere (CNN)
* What Would You Do? Season Premiere (ABC)

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19TH, 2024:
* A Taste Of Love (Hallmark)
* Becoming King (Paramount+)
* Einstein And The Bomb (Netflix)
* Giannis: The Marvelous Journey (Prime Video)
* Independent Lens: Breaking The News (PBS)
* James Brown: Say It Loud (A&E)
* Operation Arctic Cure (NatGeo)
* Rhythm + Flow Italy Series Premiere (Netflix)
* The Madame Blanc Mysteries (Acorn TV)
* The Really Loud House (Nickelodeon)
* TMZ Investigates: Kevin Costner's Divorce Wars (Fox)

SEE YOU ON MONDAY!