Content Streaming Domain Set To Welcome CBS-Viacom Partnership

newly combined ViacomCBS will invest in more movies and TV shows and try to sell more vertising as it seeks to become a bigger player in growing business of streaming video. 

Yet bigger company still might t be big eugh to be competitive, as larger rival Disney launches its own service in vember and streaming pioneer Netflix spends even more on original shows and movies. 

That isn’t stopping Viacom CEO Bob Bakish, who will le combined company, to declare that ViacomCBS will be “one of only a few companies with breth and depth of content and reach to shape future of our industry.” 

CBS and Viacom, which separated in 2006, anunced ir long-anticipated reunion Tuesday. 

Viacom owns Paramount Pictures movie studio and pay TV channels such as Comedy Central, MTV and BET, while CBS has a brocast network, television stations, Showtime and a stake in CW over--air network. 

CBS was one of first media companies to launch its own streaming service, CBS All Access. $6-a-month service w has a new “Star Trek” series, a revival of “ Twilight Zone” and archives of old and current brocast shows. 

w, Disney, Comcast’s NBCUniversal and AT&T’s WarnerMedia are jumping in with ir own services as well to challenge Netflix, Amazon, Google and or tech companies encroaching into entertainment. To expand its library, Disney bought Fox’s entertainment businesses for $71 billion in March, while DirecTV owner AT&T bought Time Warner last year for $81 billion. 

Acting CBS CEO Joe Ianniello, who will he CBS business in combined company, said in a call with analysts that company might d content from Nickelodeon, BET, MTV and Comedy Central to CBS All Access and Paramount movies to Showtime. CBS’ -supported CBSSports HQ and ET Live could be ded to Pluto TV. 

And company hopes to beef up its international offerings. 

“ combined company will have best of both worlds, premium U.S. programming that seamlessly travels across borders and hundreds of thousands of hours of locally produced international programming, all available with of a button,” he said. 

Once deal is completed, expected by end of year, ViacomCBS will have a combined library with more than 140,000 TV episodes and 3,600 film titles, including franchises such as “Star Trek” and “Mission: Impossible.” 

two companies have been major content spenders, having spent more than $13 billion combined in past year, or close to estimated $15 billion Netflix is expected to spend on content in 2019. two companies have more than 750 series currently ordered or in production. 

But combined company will still be small. CBS has a market value of $18 billion and Viacom about $11.7 billion. Disney’s is nearly $245 billion and Netflix is at $136 billion. 

CBS says All Access and its Showtime streaming services have 8 million subscribers combined. That’s far less than 60 million U.S. subscribers that Netflix has, though it’s comparable with estimated number of subscribers to HBO w, that network’s stand-alone streaming service. 

And Paramount movie studio, despite hits like last year’s “A Quiet Place” and latest “Mission: Impossible” sequel, has just 5% of this year’s market share at box office. It hasn’t been in top five since 2011. 

Moody’s media analyst Neil Begley said ViacomCBS might have to consider or acquisitions to keep up. However, number of possible targets is dwindling, he said, with what’s left mostly smaller companies such as Discovery and AMC television networks and MGM and Lionsgate movie studios. 

He said a big question will be wher new company will focus on subscription offerings, such as CBS All Access and Showtime, or free, -supported ones, like Viacom-owned Pluto TV. Or it may keep doing both. 

“If you’re going in both directions, you’re hedging your bets, but are you pulling your punches on whatever best strategy might have been?” Begley said. 

all-stock deal will give CBS shareholders about 61% of combined company and Viacom shareholders rest. companies say combined company will have $28 billion in revenue. By combining, companies say y will save $500 million a year. 

CBS and Viacom have h an on-again, off-again relationship. 

After splitting in 2006, CBS and Viacom both remained controlled by National Amusements. Shari Redstone, daughter of media mogul Sumner Redstone, runs holding company. 

split was a way to separate Viacom’s networks like MTV, Nickelodeon and BET, which were very successful at time, from slower growth of CBS network. 

But over time, two companies’ fates were reversed. CBS under longtime chief Les Moonves became more profitable and Viacom struggled, hurt by weakness in its Paramount studio and people dropping cable in favor of streaming. 

A recombination makes sense w because media companies are bulking up ir content offerings to better compete for dollars. But Moonves was against idea, as CBS was stronger and more profitable than Viacom. 

Moonves’ ouster last year in face of multiple sexual misconduct allegations changed dynamic. Under an agreement, Shari Redstone agreed t to push for a reunion for at least two years, but that left open possibility of CBS itself pushing for it. 

Redstone will be chairwoman of combined company’s board. 

“We will establish a world-class, multiplatform media organization that is well-positioned for growth in a rapidly transforming industry,” Redstone said. 

Viacom’s stock rose 2.4% and CBS 1.4% in tring Tuesday, a reflection of Wall Street having anticipated this deal, especially in recent days. Disney’s stock was up 1%, while Netflix gained less than 1%. 

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