WEBVTT - ViacomCBS Streaming Chief Tom Ryan Sees 'Squid Game'-Sized Hit Potential 0:00:08.160 --> 0:00:11.400 Welcome to another episode of Strictly Business, the podcast in 0:00:11.440 --> 0:00:13.720 which we talked with some of the brightest minds working 0:00:13.720 --> 0:00:17.599 in the media business today. I'm Andrew Wallenstein with Variety. 0:00:18.280 --> 0:00:21.079 It was little over a year ago that Viacom CBS 0:00:21.120 --> 0:00:24.880 promoted Tom Ryan to oversee all of its streaming operations, 0:00:24.920 --> 0:00:27.600 and he's got quite a growth story to tell. When 0:00:27.600 --> 0:00:31.000 the company reported third quarter earnings earlier this month, his 0:00:31.080 --> 0:00:34.280 division had crossed the one billion dollar mark and revenue 0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:37.360 for the first time. But it's still early days in 0:00:37.440 --> 0:00:40.080 the streaming wars and just about anything could happen, so 0:00:40.120 --> 0:00:42.120 we're happy to check in with Tom on this latest 0:00:42.120 --> 0:00:53.800 episode of Strictly Business, so stick around. Welcome back to 0:00:53.800 --> 0:00:56.600 the Strictly Business podcast. For my guest today is President 0:00:56.680 --> 0:01:00.240 and CEO for all Things Streaming at Viacom cb S, 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:03.600 Tom Ryan. He first had Tom on this podcast back 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:06.480 in and it's gonna be great to catch up because 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:09.040 a whole lot has changed for him in over three years. 0:01:09.720 --> 0:01:12.679 This conversation was recorded November eighth at the Future of 0:01:12.760 --> 0:01:16.880 Television Confidence. I wanted to compliment you on a great 0:01:16.920 --> 0:01:20.280 third quarter. Look really good. You added four point three 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:24.360 million subscribers, globally and that currently stands at forty seven 0:01:24.440 --> 0:01:29.959 million Pluto fifty seven sorry, fifty four million monthly active users. 0:01:30.319 --> 0:01:32.479 And so I wanted to start with how do these 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:36.760 numbers track with your expectations? Um? Are you ahead of 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:42.440 where you thought you would be? Yeah, we're we're exceeding expectations. 0:01:42.440 --> 0:01:45.280 So we're really happy with the numbers that we released 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:49.120 last week across both free and pay and uh, you 0:01:49.160 --> 0:01:52.160 know we've got a unified streaming group via com CBS 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:55.560 right now. UM, so we're really focused on the opportunity 0:01:56.160 --> 0:01:59.680 to build a unique strategy across both free and paid streaming. 0:02:01.480 --> 0:02:04.040 That's that's great. I mean, yes, you guys are are 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:07.559 in a number of different businesses on the streaming side, 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:13.640 and I was curious first and foremost about in terms 0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:16.679 of your strategy here. I wanted to start with movies 0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:19.480 because that's a big part of at least what you're 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:23.440 doing on the on the paramount plus side. And it 0:02:23.520 --> 0:02:27.520 feels like I'm seeing a variety of different strategies for 0:02:27.639 --> 0:02:32.119 lots of different titles. Clifford, the animated property just came 0:02:32.120 --> 0:02:34.320 out day and date. Others you've done sort of the 0:02:34.360 --> 0:02:37.520 forty five day thing, do you guys have a sense 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:41.000 of of what the strategy is or is it you're 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:45.080 just trying lots of different things. Yeah, So we think 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:48.720 in this era in particular, it makes a lot of 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:51.959 sense to be as flexible as possible when it comes 0:02:52.000 --> 0:02:56.480 to releasing UH movies in streaming and so we're fortunate 0:02:57.040 --> 0:02:59.320 um that is part of via com CBS. Not only 0:02:59.360 --> 0:03:02.400 are we building leading streaming services, but we also have 0:03:02.480 --> 0:03:05.680 a major movie studio and so that allows us to 0:03:05.720 --> 0:03:10.400 really leverage everything the Paramount Pictures does for streaming and 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:13.560 so UM as we think about the different ways you 0:03:13.600 --> 0:03:16.440 go to market, as you mentioned, there's a there's actually 0:03:16.560 --> 0:03:19.480 three different ways in addition to the traditional way. There's exclusive, 0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:24.280 which we've done with Infinite, which we released earlier this year. 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:28.080 There is day and date, which we've done with UH 0:03:28.440 --> 0:03:31.880 with paw Patrol with Clifford. And then there's a fast 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:35.600 follow to theatrical like forty five days both post the actual, 0:03:35.600 --> 0:03:38.760 which we did with A Quiet Place too. And we've 0:03:38.760 --> 0:03:41.600 seen success in all of those models. So you know, 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:44.720 with movie goers, you know, it really being a moving 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:48.760 target about how you know, how uh confident people are 0:03:48.840 --> 0:03:51.800 to go to movie theaters. These days, um, you know, 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:56.119 and and it really varies by demographic and by location. UM, 0:03:56.160 --> 0:03:59.640 we think it's important to maintain flexibility, but we've seen, 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:03.800 you know, just great results when we when we've gone 0:04:03.880 --> 0:04:06.360 day and date. For example, there was concern that there 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:10.320 could be cannibalization, but you know, with Paw Patrol, we 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:14.280 we vastly exceeded expectations both theatrically as well as our 0:04:14.320 --> 0:04:19.279 streaming targets for the movie. So does that mean that 0:04:19.320 --> 0:04:22.159 there will could there be a point where there will 0:04:22.240 --> 0:04:25.120 be a one size fits all or you're saying you're 0:04:25.160 --> 0:04:29.760 comfortable sort of matching the strategy to the particular film's needs. 0:04:30.640 --> 0:04:33.320 I think for the moment, you know, Paramount Plus is 0:04:33.360 --> 0:04:36.839 eight months old. We launched in early March. Yes, it's 0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:40.479 a an evolution to a certain degree of CBS all access, 0:04:40.520 --> 0:04:43.720 but it's vastly expanded. It brings all of Viacom, CBS 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:48.840 is content and resources to bear and so we absolutely 0:04:48.960 --> 0:04:52.240 do want to hone our strategy as we move on. 0:04:52.360 --> 0:04:55.080 But we think that you know, having seen success in 0:04:55.160 --> 0:04:59.320 each of the different methods that we've released movies in, UM, 0:04:59.360 --> 0:05:02.600 you know, this flexibility is important to have right now, 0:05:02.720 --> 0:05:05.839 and we may well find that we're gonna maintain, you know, 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:11.520 a flexible model and approach into the future. Got it. 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:14.440 Also something that struck me listening to the third quarter 0:05:14.480 --> 0:05:18.960 call is kids content in particular is really resonating on 0:05:19.000 --> 0:05:23.040 your platform. The Nickelodeon library is doing great. You mentioned 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:27.320 Paw Patrol, Clifford. We haven't even talked SpongeBob or the 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:30.880 new I Cardly, is this actually sort of becoming the 0:05:31.040 --> 0:05:34.520 identity of paramount plus because you guys obviously marketed a 0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:37.120 lot of different ways news and sports, but it does 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:40.440 feel like kids is sort of stepping out front. Well, 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:44.640 I mean, we just released Paranormal Paranormal Activity next to Kins. 0:05:44.640 --> 0:05:47.000 So I wouldn't say our identity is that of a 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:52.600 kid's service per se, but uh, I would say that, 0:05:52.680 --> 0:05:54.919 you know, kids is an area where we think that 0:05:55.040 --> 0:05:58.800 we can be one of the leaders in streaming. It's 0:05:58.880 --> 0:06:02.480 a plate we've think it's an underserved category. It's a 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:06.720 category that plays to buy a com CBS strengths with Nickelodeon, 0:06:06.760 --> 0:06:10.279 the robust catalog that we have, UM, the originals and 0:06:10.279 --> 0:06:14.279 the reboots that we're able to do UM on that catalog, UM, 0:06:14.400 --> 0:06:17.960 and it really sort of fits nicely into our strategy 0:06:18.040 --> 0:06:20.800 of being a whole household service. So what we're looking 0:06:20.880 --> 0:06:22.960 to do with Paramount Plus is to have a service 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:26.240 that really, um you know, has something for everyone in 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:29.400 the family, from the dad who loves sports, to the 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:31.960 mom who might be into scripted dramas or some of 0:06:32.000 --> 0:06:36.479 our original movies UM or to the kids who are 0:06:36.640 --> 0:06:39.839 coming in droves for all that we have to offer 0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:43.560 from on the kid's side. So it's it's a place 0:06:43.600 --> 0:06:46.960 that we've seen lots of early success. We've also got 0:06:47.000 --> 0:06:50.320 great franchises and kids UM and as anybody with a 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:52.520 parent with a with a kid knows, any parent with 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:54.479 a kid knows, I should say, um, you know, the 0:06:54.560 --> 0:06:57.320 last thing you want to do once your kids gravitate 0:06:57.400 --> 0:07:00.919 toward a streaming service UM is and subscribe from that 0:07:00.960 --> 0:07:03.880 streaming service. So it really has great benefits in terms 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:09.880 of retention. Got it. Another thing that UH coming up 0:07:09.920 --> 0:07:13.720 in the fourth quarter big test for new originals from 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:20.120 you guys, yellow Stone, South Park, new iterations, new UH spinoffs, 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:25.080 or I should say, of these franchises, how important are 0:07:25.160 --> 0:07:28.960 these shows for Paramount Plus for the for these to 0:07:29.120 --> 0:07:33.240 work because you don't have the core yellow Stone or 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:36.040 south Park on the service, those have been licensed out 0:07:36.080 --> 0:07:40.280 to rivals, and you know, does that make these all 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:44.160 the more important to work? Well, I should start by 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:47.280 saying that the service is working, as you noted at 0:07:47.320 --> 0:07:50.440 the top of this call, across our paid services where 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:54.840 at forty seven million global subscribers already, Paramount plus is 0:07:55.000 --> 0:08:00.440 the driver of our paid UH subscription growth and again 0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:03.760 has only just launched eight months ago. So we're very 0:08:03.920 --> 0:08:07.160 very early innings UM with Paramount plus UM, and I 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:10.200 think streaming is just early innings to begin with. UM. 0:08:10.240 --> 0:08:13.040 It's true that some of our products have been licensed 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:16.920 out UM Viacom CBS has long been in the licensing 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:20.800 business UM, and many of the decisions that were made 0:08:21.160 --> 0:08:26.360 in order in terms of licensing content UM elsewhere we're 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:30.000 made well before we launched Paramount plus UM. But as 0:08:30.000 --> 0:08:32.880 our business is evolving and streaming is a top priority 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:36.480 of the company, our approach to licensing is evolving as well, 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:39.560 and so we're you know, still in the licensing business 0:08:39.640 --> 0:08:43.880 of course, but increasingly we are holding our i P 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:48.720 for our own streaming services UM, and we're leveraging UM 0:08:48.840 --> 0:08:52.720 that i PU not just catalog, but also investing in 0:08:53.240 --> 0:08:56.840 you know, reboots and spinoffs and other new original content 0:08:56.920 --> 0:09:00.240 based on those franchises. So, um, we think it's uh, 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:03.280 it's a it's a great and evolving strategy and um, 0:09:03.320 --> 0:09:06.240 we've got you know, it's it's you know, the the 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:09.160 amount of I P and franchises that we have across 0:09:09.280 --> 0:09:12.360 the combined by A come CBS is so massive. I 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:15.440 think we've got a huge opportunity here and we're already 0:09:15.480 --> 0:09:20.560 seeing the fruit, uh, the fruit of that work being 0:09:20.600 --> 0:09:25.080 coming very important to the services results thus far. Do 0:09:25.160 --> 0:09:29.800 you feel though that Viacom CBS has sort of a 0:09:29.920 --> 0:09:33.680 defining hit at this point? And and could these new 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:37.520 versions of Yellowstone or South Park b that I mean, 0:09:38.960 --> 0:09:42.080 I've seen some of the work that's not yet been 0:09:42.120 --> 0:09:45.120 released shirt I mean Taylor Sheridan, Um, you know, we're 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:49.160 creating a universe on Paramount Plus around all of this 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:53.920 new content that he's creating from Mayor of Kingstown which 0:09:54.360 --> 0:09:59.280 release releases very soon um to hye eight three and beyond. 0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:02.480 So yes, I think that we're going to have you know, 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:06.240 lots of fantastic new shows that are created not just 0:10:06.320 --> 0:10:08.880 by him but by many others. And uh, you know, 0:10:08.960 --> 0:10:11.880 we're investing significantly in content. So you're going to see 0:10:12.160 --> 0:10:14.760 a lot coming to Paramount Plus in the months ahead 0:10:15.559 --> 0:10:19.160 and to date, as you said out here eight months now, 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:21.520 I've mentioned the success you've had with some kids content. 0:10:21.880 --> 0:10:24.320 Are we overlooking anything in terms of what you see 0:10:24.320 --> 0:10:27.720 as as the real success stories for Paramount Plus? Uh 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:31.600 in these first eight months, well, I mean we have 0:10:31.760 --> 0:10:36.200 not been uh shy about saying how successful sports has been. 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:41.160 Um So, we have seen you know, record uh consumption 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:45.880 of of UH of NFL games recently. We've also had 0:10:45.920 --> 0:10:49.840 lots of success with European football or soccer. Um So, 0:10:49.920 --> 0:10:52.760 sports has been a great area of success for US. 0:10:53.200 --> 0:10:58.120 Um Our movies have performed extremely well. Our originals in 0:10:58.240 --> 0:11:00.560 terms of scripted dramas and other shows as have also 0:11:00.640 --> 0:11:03.600 done well. So um you know, kids is just one 0:11:03.679 --> 0:11:07.360 part of the story, got it? You know? Just the 0:11:07.360 --> 0:11:10.199 whole notion of a hit in the streaming game these 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:13.439 days has been redefined I think by Netflix with what 0:11:13.480 --> 0:11:17.400 it achieved with Squid Games. And I was curious, do 0:11:17.440 --> 0:11:21.240 you think Viacom CBS can achieve that kind of international 0:11:21.400 --> 0:11:24.760 hit with the increased emphasis you're starting to put on 0:11:24.840 --> 0:11:30.360 locally produced content in Latin America or elsewhere. Absolutely so. 0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:35.160 Bicom CBS is one of the biggest creators of content globally, UH, 0:11:35.320 --> 0:11:38.880 not just creators of content here in America that we export, 0:11:38.960 --> 0:11:42.000 but creators of content UM in many different parts of 0:11:42.000 --> 0:11:45.079 the world. UM. And at the same time, we also 0:11:45.160 --> 0:11:49.280 have a global streaming strategy. Streaming is a global mega trend. 0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:51.959 We're rolling out our streaming services around the world. We're 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:55.600 already in twenty five countries for Paramount Plus and growing, 0:11:55.880 --> 0:11:59.640 and we're already in twenty six countries for Pluto tv UM. 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:02.960 We did a couple of M and A transactions very 0:12:03.000 --> 0:12:09.480 recently where we acquired significant portions of additional broadcasters in 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:13.680 South America, making us one of we already were, but 0:12:13.760 --> 0:12:16.360 that just reinforced us as one of the biggest creators 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:20.480 of Spanish language content, which, as you know, UM travels 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:23.520 really well around the world and has been responsible for 0:12:23.600 --> 0:12:27.200 some of the biggest hits in UH in streaming. So 0:12:27.840 --> 0:12:31.319 we think that we are incredibly well positioned both from 0:12:31.320 --> 0:12:34.920 a distribution perspective as we continue to scale up these 0:12:34.960 --> 0:12:38.080 streaming services across free and pay around the world, but 0:12:38.240 --> 0:12:42.440 also you know, from a content creation perspective, UM on 0:12:42.480 --> 0:12:44.200 a on a not just on a U S, but 0:12:44.280 --> 0:12:47.520 on a local basis where we can export to all 0:12:47.520 --> 0:12:50.760 the different countries that are streaming services are present um 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:54.160 in order to you know, really have the type of 0:12:54.200 --> 0:12:56.440 global scale and success that you need to be a 0:12:56.440 --> 0:12:59.600 global streamer today. Yeah, I mean, because that really is 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:02.760 the name of the game, isn't it. And when you 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:06.319 guys have had some impressive growth, but right now as 0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:10.000 it stands, in the streaming game, there are some bigger, 0:13:10.080 --> 0:13:14.120 much bigger I should say, global services, and you guys 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:16.840 are certainly pledging to spend a lot of on content. 0:13:16.920 --> 0:13:19.040 I think that the figure on the latest call was 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:22.680 five billion by the end of which is a huge 0:13:22.760 --> 0:13:26.040 number for Viacom CBS. It shows how serious you guys are, 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:29.120 and yet it pales in comparison to what some of 0:13:29.160 --> 0:13:32.880 the other spending estimates are like. And so the simple 0:13:32.960 --> 0:13:36.920 question is is this truly enough to compete and sort 0:13:36.960 --> 0:13:41.480 of crack that first tier of streaming services. I mean, 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:44.280 we think that we are very well positioned. I mean, 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:47.440 not only are we going to be committing or we're 0:13:47.480 --> 0:13:51.120 already committing, and we will continue to increase the commitment 0:13:51.440 --> 0:13:54.920 of billions of dollars of content. But we've got a 0:13:54.960 --> 0:14:00.520 massive library across book via Com and CBS now combined. UM, 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:04.280 all of that together we think positions us for great 0:14:04.280 --> 0:14:07.959 success and streaming. Well, I think something else that will 0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:12.280 help was this deal you guys just announced with T Mobile. Uh. 0:14:12.320 --> 0:14:15.520 It seems like there's a number of deals that you 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:20.600 guys have in place with Amazon channels, with Sky all 0:14:20.720 --> 0:14:24.760 that should help paramount plus scale. But I do wonder 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:26.920 when you strike these kind of deals, is there were 0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:29.320 a risk of too much trade off in terms of 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:33.359 the data and the revenue that you lose to the partners, 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:39.200 you know, in exchange for scale on these deals. UM. Well, 0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:42.400 I mean, you know, we think that broad and ubiquitous 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:47.160 distribution really leads to scale. So the strategy really is 0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:51.840 to manage this diversified portfolio of distributors UM, and in 0:14:51.960 --> 0:14:56.000 doing that we maximize and optimize growth. UM. So it's 0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:58.640 true that a service UM in certain cases has less 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:03.000 visibility into channels user than a D two C user, 0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:08.240 but there's advantages. One UM is that our portfolio strategies 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:11.840 yielded a very large directed consumer base, and we've got 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:15.680 excellent visibility on those users today. UM and too. It's 0:15:15.720 --> 0:15:19.960 important to extend the service to users wherever they are, 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:25.240 and we're growing paramount plus faster as a result of that. UM. 0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:28.200 You know, we're also UM you know, one of the 0:15:28.520 --> 0:15:32.000 or i'd say we're the biggest partner in the channels 0:15:32.000 --> 0:15:35.760 space as others are abandoning UM. That is a distribution 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:40.880 method UM. As for revenue, I think it's critical that 0:15:40.920 --> 0:15:45.720 Paramount Plus is fully distributed and aligning our incentives with 0:15:46.000 --> 0:15:49.840 distribution partners means that those and partners, those distribution partners 0:15:49.920 --> 0:15:53.200 invest in our growth. And that's exactly how we were 0:15:53.240 --> 0:15:57.040 able to scale Pluto to TV so quickly we launched 0:15:57.080 --> 0:15:59.240 that seven years ago. It's going to be a billion 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:03.680 dollar business this year in just seven years after launch, 0:16:03.880 --> 0:16:09.320 largely through shared success and aligned interest with distribution partners 0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:12.720 which were also bringing to Paramount plus UM. And as 0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:16.320 for T Mobile, it is massive promotion UM, but it's 0:16:16.360 --> 0:16:19.880 not that's not limited to just certain tiers. That's available 0:16:19.920 --> 0:16:24.680 to any T Mobile or Sprint postpaid customer UM. And 0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:28.600 it's actually driving direct to consumer users. So there's really 0:16:28.600 --> 0:16:32.920 no data tradeoff for us there. But with with Amazon, 0:16:33.520 --> 0:16:35.320 it sounds like you see there's some value to the 0:16:35.360 --> 0:16:37.360 fact that a lot of the other rivals of yours 0:16:37.400 --> 0:16:41.360 are are stepping out of that space for their own reasons. 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:44.360 But it sounds like you think there's actually some strength 0:16:44.400 --> 0:16:49.760 in in staying on there and facing less competition. We do. Yeah, 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:51.960 we think they've been a great partner and they've helped 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:57.480 us um scale and again where there's aligned incentives and 0:16:57.520 --> 0:16:59.920 a and a shared approach to growing the business, to 0:17:00.000 --> 0:17:02.080 whether we think that they can be an important part 0:17:02.080 --> 0:17:07.919 of our continued growth. We'll be back in just a 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:18.359 minute with more from Tom Ryan of Viacom CBS. We're 0:17:18.359 --> 0:17:21.600 back talking with Tom Ryan, who oversees streaming services like 0:17:21.640 --> 0:17:26.960 Paramount Plus and Pluto TV for Viacom CBS. I referenced 0:17:26.960 --> 0:17:31.080 earlier this notion of you know, tears in terms of 0:17:31.200 --> 0:17:36.000 the amount of competition you've got out there. I'm curious 0:17:36.040 --> 0:17:39.080 though there's been it feels like there's new data every 0:17:39.080 --> 0:17:44.119 month about the consumer appetite for subscription streaming services. What 0:17:44.280 --> 0:17:46.639 is your take on that now? And do you feel 0:17:46.680 --> 0:17:50.919 that Viacom CBS has sort of earned a spot among 0:17:51.520 --> 0:17:55.960 you know, a limited number of players. Yeah, so, I 0:17:56.000 --> 0:18:00.359 mean it's funny. I mean, well, first of all, you know, 0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:04.600 streaming is still in its infancy in my opinion, UM. 0:18:04.640 --> 0:18:08.119 And that's across both free and pay. But you know, 0:18:08.200 --> 0:18:12.040 when you're talking about UM paid, it's it's funny because 0:18:12.160 --> 0:18:16.600 as an entrepreneur when Pluto was independent, UM, one of 0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:18.400 the things that I would say when I would come 0:18:18.400 --> 0:18:21.480 on your podcast or speak at other conferences was that, 0:18:21.960 --> 0:18:25.400 you know, people would be interested in free streaming services 0:18:25.480 --> 0:18:28.320 because they're only going to subscribe to one or two 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:31.440 paid services. And at the time, this was just three 0:18:31.520 --> 0:18:35.240 four short years ago, that was true. UM. I was 0:18:35.280 --> 0:18:38.000 wrong though. I mean, people are now subscribing to four 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:42.320 or five paid services, and that could go significantly northward 0:18:42.359 --> 0:18:44.639 from here. And the reason is that people are finding 0:18:44.640 --> 0:18:47.920 great value and paid streaming services as more and more 0:18:48.040 --> 0:18:52.120 high quality paid streaming services come to market um at 0:18:52.160 --> 0:18:56.359 affordable pricing, which paramount plus has in spades, UM. And 0:18:56.440 --> 0:18:59.920 as people are increasingly just streaming and connecting their tea 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:02.280 these to the Internet. I don't know if you can 0:19:02.320 --> 0:19:05.280 buy a TV that doesn't have a smart operating system 0:19:05.359 --> 0:19:08.240 and uh, you know sort of prompts you to connect 0:19:08.240 --> 0:19:11.240 to the internet. UM. And so there are you know, 0:19:11.400 --> 0:19:14.480 massive winds at the back of streamers. I'm not going 0:19:14.520 --> 0:19:17.000 to say that like every streaming service is going to 0:19:17.040 --> 0:19:20.439 be successful. I think what unites what we do via 0:19:20.520 --> 0:19:23.200 com CBS both across Free and Pay with Pluto and 0:19:23.240 --> 0:19:26.480 Paramount Plus is that these are broad based services that 0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:29.639 are for the whole household and have all the benefits 0:19:29.680 --> 0:19:32.640 of scale that come with that, UM as well as 0:19:32.720 --> 0:19:35.800 the retention benefits of being services that get used by 0:19:35.880 --> 0:19:40.640 multiple people in the household. UM. So you know, we're 0:19:40.720 --> 0:19:44.320 the space is evolving very quickly. UM. People are paying 0:19:44.359 --> 0:19:47.720 for more streaming services. They're also using you know, freed serve. 0:19:47.960 --> 0:19:50.520 It has an impact the what I said back years 0:19:50.520 --> 0:19:53.240 ago either about free free as in hyper growth to 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:56.560 people are just streaming a lot more and the like 0:19:56.640 --> 0:19:59.840 this rising tide is gonna list lift um boats. It's 0:19:59.880 --> 0:20:02.160 not kind of lift all the boats, but the best 0:20:02.160 --> 0:20:05.520 boats will rise significantly as a result. And we've got 0:20:05.560 --> 0:20:07.480 the best boat and free and we're building the best 0:20:07.480 --> 0:20:09.280 boat or one of the best boats, I should say, 0:20:09.320 --> 0:20:12.240 and pay. And what's interesting about your strategy is you 0:20:12.320 --> 0:20:15.960 kind of bolt the boats together, like you know, Pluto 0:20:16.240 --> 0:20:21.080 serves Paramount Plus. There's some integration there. Describe what the 0:20:21.119 --> 0:20:24.840 strategy is there and why it's the way to go. Yeah. So, 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:28.359 I mean the strategy behind creating a unified streaming group 0:20:28.440 --> 0:20:31.080 was so that we could actually take this unique strategy 0:20:31.119 --> 0:20:34.080 across free and pay um and bring it to market, 0:20:34.160 --> 0:20:40.120 but with a unified team that's building our streaming platforms together, 0:20:40.320 --> 0:20:43.920 rather than building them as you know fifetoms UM with 0:20:44.000 --> 0:20:49.119 different teams and different goals UM and with the intent 0:20:49.240 --> 0:20:52.160 of making the one plus one of free and pay 0:20:52.359 --> 0:20:55.960 equal free UM. So you know what we've been doing, 0:20:56.000 --> 0:20:58.639 and again this is very early days. This streaming group 0:20:58.720 --> 0:21:02.240 was created a year ago when I was pointed to 0:21:02.320 --> 0:21:05.919 my new role, and we've built a unified streaming executive 0:21:05.920 --> 0:21:08.800 team and we've got of course there's folks who were focused, 0:21:08.880 --> 0:21:11.760 you know, just on one service versus another, but increasingly 0:21:11.840 --> 0:21:16.680 we have our entire streaming group focused on the opportunity 0:21:16.720 --> 0:21:20.040 to grow the overall business as much as possible. And 0:21:20.480 --> 0:21:24.159 you know, interlinking this ecosystem where we can move users 0:21:24.200 --> 0:21:27.160 from one service to the next, we think is really 0:21:27.200 --> 0:21:31.280 important and we've already seen some great early success. Example 0:21:31.320 --> 0:21:34.600 would be UM the channels that we put for Paramount 0:21:34.640 --> 0:21:39.080 plus UH and for Showtime, O T t Onto Pluto TV, 0:21:39.240 --> 0:21:42.400 where we'll put premium content in front of the paywall 0:21:42.440 --> 0:21:45.560 as a linear channel on Pluto t V. UM and 0:21:45.720 --> 0:21:49.760 those uh, those channels on Pluto TV have driven more 0:21:49.960 --> 0:21:55.000 starts for subscriptions or more trials UM for our paid 0:21:55.040 --> 0:21:58.480 services than when we put the same content for free 0:21:58.480 --> 0:22:00.760 in front of front of a paywall, of course, on YouTube, 0:22:00.800 --> 0:22:04.320 which has billions of users. So it's showing you how 0:22:04.359 --> 0:22:08.120 effective this um already is in its infancy. And we've 0:22:08.160 --> 0:22:10.879 got a very significant roadmap of other things that we 0:22:10.920 --> 0:22:13.840 want to do to bring these services together and make 0:22:13.880 --> 0:22:17.240 them again make the one plus one equal three. And 0:22:17.480 --> 0:22:22.040 I follow your logic, but I also wonder if there's 0:22:22.119 --> 0:22:25.919 just some simplicity in, for instance, one brand to market 0:22:26.080 --> 0:22:31.879 instead of paramount plus showtime. Pluto and Viacon still is 0:22:31.960 --> 0:22:35.159 other things, UM, So what what do you make of 0:22:35.200 --> 0:22:41.679 the simplicity argument. I think the simplicity argument UM makes 0:22:41.760 --> 0:22:46.080 sense on the surface, but when you dive deeper, you 0:22:46.160 --> 0:22:50.800 see that there's great reasons to actually maintain different services. 0:22:50.840 --> 0:22:54.600 So let's take free and pay to start. Pluto is 0:22:54.640 --> 0:22:58.679 a free streaming TV service. It is instant, there's no 0:22:58.800 --> 0:23:03.240 friction you turn. I mean when we actually launched Pluto, 0:23:03.320 --> 0:23:05.840 we didn't even ask for a sign up because we 0:23:05.920 --> 0:23:08.399 wanted you to be able to sort of experience that 0:23:08.560 --> 0:23:13.480 magic of turning on the TV through your web browser. UM, 0:23:13.520 --> 0:23:17.560 and then ultimately the service largely became a connected TV business. UM. 0:23:17.640 --> 0:23:22.280 But you know, having that simplicity of just letting people 0:23:22.520 --> 0:23:25.439 engage with Pluto and having it be as frictionless and 0:23:25.480 --> 0:23:30.560 as built in as possible UM is a huge advantage 0:23:30.560 --> 0:23:32.400 and one of the reasons why Pluto is the leader 0:23:32.400 --> 0:23:36.199 in its category. On the paid side, UM. You know, 0:23:36.320 --> 0:23:39.040 we think that you know, let's just take paramount plus 0:23:39.040 --> 0:23:42.960 a showtime for example. I mean, those services appealed to 0:23:43.880 --> 0:23:47.600 UM largely different users. There's very little overlap in the 0:23:47.760 --> 0:23:51.639 subscriber base, although there is some UM and so you 0:23:51.680 --> 0:23:54.840 know the but but you know, as we think about 0:23:54.840 --> 0:23:57.400 it from a business perspective, we want to make sure 0:23:57.480 --> 0:24:02.240 that we're addressing the largest possible audio. It's with paramount Plus. 0:24:02.320 --> 0:24:06.320 We offer that everything that paramounts plus offers. The content 0:24:06.440 --> 0:24:11.320 is not tiered in any way, UH, with some very 0:24:11.440 --> 0:24:15.360 very small exceptions. UM for four dollars and ninety nine 0:24:15.359 --> 0:24:18.639 cents so for you know, and that's for with ads. 0:24:18.680 --> 0:24:22.000 So that's a very very attractive price point. UM. If 0:24:22.000 --> 0:24:24.520 Showtime we're bundled in there, it would not be made 0:24:24.560 --> 0:24:28.240 available at that price. So we want and and as 0:24:28.280 --> 0:24:30.760 I mentioned, like the overlap between the two services is 0:24:30.800 --> 0:24:34.919 not UM, it is not very large. So UM we 0:24:34.960 --> 0:24:37.280 want people to be able to get Paramount plus for 0:24:37.320 --> 0:24:40.280 four ninety nine UM and if they want Showtime, yes, 0:24:40.280 --> 0:24:42.040 they can add it on. And we're doing everything that 0:24:42.080 --> 0:24:44.199 we can to make it as easy as possible for 0:24:44.240 --> 0:24:47.720 people to UM buy the two services if they're interested, 0:24:47.920 --> 0:24:51.280