Paramount Global : Tom Ryan on What’s Next in Streaming

NB: How do you deal with the chatter and speculation around our streaming platforms and how crowded the market is right now?

TR: Our mission-and the consumers we're serving-are always front and center. That focus guides us and pushes us to deliver smart, valued experiences for consumers at every level. If you listen to the armchair critics, you limit your creativity and stifle the courage to experiment and ultimately accomplish something new, different and great. Feedback can certainly be helpful, but it's about being creative through criticism and concentrating on delivering audiences the best entertainment experience possible, which is something I think we continue to excel at both on Pluto TV and Paramount+.

NB: What do you see for the future of bundling?

TR: We've been believers for a long time in the power of bundling for many of the same reasons that we believe that a whole household service makes sense. It gives a single destination for a household's streaming needs and, by bundling, you can achieve that through partners much in the same way we've integrated Paramount+ and SHOWTIME. Bundling streaming services will play a significant role as we continue our path to profitability. They allow us to strengthen our whole household offering and, additionally, on top of providing more content and reasons to stay with the bundle, they often offer customers a discount. So customers not only get a better deal, but they have more reasons to stay. There's a stickiness created by bundles, so we are very bullish on their future.

Bundling has now become a major trend in streaming. We've been one of the leaders, if not the market leader, for bundling Paramount+. In 2022, we partnered with Walmart+ to offer the Paramount+ essential tier to their members. And, last year, we teamed up with Delta to become their exclusive in-flight entertainment partner. We've also bundled Paramount+ with a variety of pay TV providers in other countries like Sky, for example, in Europe. These were very competitive deals and helped to establish us as a real partner for leaders across industries.

NB: You mentioned our partnerships with Walmart+ and Delta. Why is it important we invest in partnerships like these?

TR: Paramount has always been a partner-driven company, and we have embedded that thinking into Paramount Streaming. We've partnered with many distributors worldwide to drive growth for Paramount+ and Pluto TV. The same is true for Pluto TV. Pluto TV was built on a model of shared success between content partners and distributors. Pluto TV wouldn't be where it is today without its strong content distribution and advertising partners. In fact, we pioneered the integrated distribution model, helping major device manufacturers get into the space by launching their own FAST services in partnership with Pluto TV.

At Paramount Streaming, we believe collaboration is our superpower. And that's the approach we take whether we're teaming up with third parties or other divisions across Paramount Global.