ViacomCBS Ready to Take on Streaming Giants

ViacomCBS is not a company you think of as one of media’s scrappy underdogs, but when it comes to streaming that’s the position it’s in.

CEO Bob Bakish said the company anticipates reaching $7 billion in streaming revenue from 65-75 million global subscribers by 2024. For comparison, Disney brought in $7.5 billion in its direct-to-consumer programming in the six months ending April 3.

The company is leveraging its sports broadcasting rights, especially soccer, to grow its streaming audience on Paramount+. 

• In addition to U.S. rights to UEFA, home of the Champions League and Europa League, Paramount+ airs the NFL, Masters, PGA Tour, NCAA, NWSL, and SEC.
• ViacomCBS added 6 million streaming subscribers in Q1 to reach 36 million. Streaming revenue grew 65% year-over-year to $816 million.
• TV isn’t dead yet: ViacomCBS’s Super Bowl-driven TV advertising revenue jumped to $1.8 billion in the first quarter, up 40% year-over-year.

In addition to Disney, Netflix, and Peacock, the company will also have to contend with the merging behemoth of Warner Media and Discovery, which brought in a combined $41 billion last year.

“The transaction itself doesn’t change anything about our strategy,” ViacomCBS CFO Naveen Chopra said about the merger at a recent JPMorgan conference. “We’ve been very focused on transitioning our assets to help drive streaming.”

Tom Ryan, the company’s head of streaming, told Yahoo that ViacomCBS “recently raised nearly $3 billion” to grow Paramount+ globally.