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US commercial broadcaster CBS and Viacom, the American multimedia conglomerate, have entered into a definitive agreement to create a combined company with more than US$28 billion in revenue.
The merger, which sees the two companies unite as ViacomCBS, creates a single entity with market leadership positions across the US, Europe, Latin America and Asia. The deal also incorporates one of the largest TV businesses in the US, and a company with the highest share of traditional linear viewership across key audience demographics.
Combining news, sports, and entertainment, ViacomCBS also boasts portfolio of direct-to-consumer (DTC) platforms, including both subscription and ad-supported offerings, such as CBS All Access, Showtime Anytime and Pluto TV.
Bob Bakish, Viacom’s president and chief executive, who will assume the positions of the new ViacomCBS business, said: “Today marks an important day for CBS and Viacom, as we unite our complementary assets and capabilities and become one of only a few companies with the breadth and depth of content and reach to shape the future of our industry.
“Our unique ability to produce premium and popular content for global audiences at scale – for our own platforms and for our partners around the world – will enable us to maximize our business for today, while positioning us to lead for years to come.”
Joe Ianniello, president and acting chief executive of CBS, who will oversee all CBS-branded assets, confirmed the merger will see an acceleration and expansion of DTC operations.
CBS currently holds one of the main National Football League (NFL) rights contracts, having signed a nine-year extension in 2013 in a deal was worth a reported US$9.23 billion at the time.
The CBS All Access over-the-top (OTT) product carries the network’s live NFL offering, as well as other sports, following a deal with the league in 2016. CBS-owned Showtime has DTC products which offer live boxing, and whilst Viacom’s streaming product, Pluto TV, does not have any live rights contracts it does offer sports programming, as well as also being home to a 24-hour channel dedicated to Major League Soccer (MLS).
“This merger brings an exciting new set of opportunities to both companies. At CBS, we have outstanding momentum right now – creatively and operationally – and Viacom’s portfolio will help accelerate that progress,” said Ianniello.
“I look forward to all we will do together as we build on our ongoing success. And personally, I am pleased to remain focused on CBS’s top priority – continuing our transformation into a global, multiplatform, premium content company.”
Bakish added: “This mix creates a powerful D2C ecosystem, which will allow us to serve consumers at different price points while enabling portfolio cross-selling.”
Bakish also indicated that ViacomCBS will immediately start cross-pollinating its content properties, telling reporters that there is “nothing at all” stopping the company from flexing its portfolio.
The move comes days after CBS and telecommunications giant AT&T announced a new multi-year content carriage agreement that sees select networks in the CBS offering to rejoin the latter’s DirecTV network following a brief withdrawal. It ensured distribution for CBS’ regional live NFL broadcasts remained at the same as levels as enjoyed over the seven-years of their former deal.
US commercial broadcaster CBS and Viacom, the American multimedia conglomerate, have entered into a definitive agreement to create a combined company with more than US$28 billion in revenue.
The merger, which sees the two companies unite as ViacomCBS, creates a single entity with market leadership positions across the US, Europe, Latin America and Asia. The deal also incorporates one of the largest TV businesses in the US, and a company with the highest share of traditional linear viewership across key audience demographics.
Combining news, sports, and entertainment, ViacomCBS also boasts portfolio of direct-to-consumer (DTC) platforms, including both subscription and ad-supported offerings, such as CBS All Access, Showtime Anytime and Pluto TV.
Bob Bakish, Viacom’s president and chief executive, who will assume the positions of the new ViacomCBS business, said: “Today marks an important day for CBS and Viacom, as we unite our complementary assets and capabilities and become one of only a few companies with the breadth and depth of content and reach to shape the future of our industry.
“Our unique ability to produce premium and popular content for global audiences at scale – for our own platforms and for our partners around the world – will enable us to maximize our business for today, while positioning us to lead for years to come.”
Joe Ianniello, president and acting chief executive of CBS, who will oversee all CBS-branded assets, confirmed the merger will see an acceleration and expansion of DTC operations.
CBS currently holds one of the main National Football League (NFL) rights contracts, having signed a nine-year extension in 2013 in a deal was worth a reported US$9.23 billion at the time.
The CBS All Access over-the-top (OTT) product carries the network’s live NFL offering, as well as other sports, following a deal with the league in 2016. CBS-owned Showtime has DTC products which offer live boxing, and whilst Viacom’s streaming product, Pluto TV, does not have any live rights contracts it does offer sports programming as well as also being home to a 24-hour channel dedicated to Major League Soccer (MLS).
“This merger brings an exciting new set of opportunities to both companies. At CBS, we have outstanding momentum right now – creatively and operationally – and Viacom’s portfolio will help accelerate that progress,” said Ianniello.
“I look forward to all we will do together as we build on our ongoing success. And personally, I am pleased to remain focused on CBS’s top priority – continuing our transformation into a global, multiplatform, premium content company.”
Bakish added: “This mix creates a powerful D2C ecosystem, which will allow us to serve consumers at different price points while enabling portfolio cross-selling.”
Bakish also indicated that ViacomCBS will immediately start cross-pollinating its content properties, telling reporters that there is “nothing at all” stopping the company from flexing its portfolio.
The move comes days after CBS and telecommunications giant AT&T announced a new multi-year content carriage agreement that sees select networks in the CBS offering to rejoin the latter’s DirecTV network following a brief withdrawal. It ensured distribution for CBS’ regional live NFL broadcasts remained at the same as levels as enjoyed over the seven-years of their former deal.
