Bob Bakish Says “Pretty Big Gap” Between Studios, WGA; Paramount Has “Many Levers To Pull” If Strike Prolonged

will celebrate its milestone 25th season with a 90-minute premiere on Wednesday, Aug. 2 at 8 p.m. ET/PT with Julie Chen Moonves returning as host.

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Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The premium end of the streaming video sector in India is poised for shake-up, with Reliance Industries’ JioCinema challenging the SVOD dominance of Disney+ Hotstar, new research suggests. “The India Online Video Report: Analysis of Consumption, Content & Investment Trends,” from Singapore-based Media Partners Asia, shows total consumption across the online video sector reached 6.1 trillion minutes for the 15-month period from Jan 2022 to Mar 2023. Within that period, the SVOD, AVOD and freemium platforms accounted for some 12% of viewing time, up from 10% in 2021. Social services such as YouTube and TikTok accounted for 88% of viewing time.

Fox unveiled its 2023/24 programming slate this morning and the writers strike was front and center.

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EXCLUSIVE: As Hollywood moves into a second week of the writers strike, texts are flying all over town confused about an A-lister event Tuesday night on a studio lot, the blowback that could come from attending it, and crossing potential picket lines.

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Taking the mic for the second time in a week, Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish explained why the company slashed its dividend and talked streaming, advertising and weathering a WGA strike.

Warner Bros Discovery’s hour-long earnings call with Wall Street analysts Friday morning included nary a mention of the WGA strike, unlike many other such calls in recent days.

In the last hour, the AMPTP made its first public remarks since the writers went on strike, calling its offer “generous”.

unable to reach a deal in contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers before Monday’s contract expiration. Picketing began in New York City and Los Angeles on Tuesday.The strike involves a long list of concerns that the writers want Hollywood studios to address, from the low pay involved in writing streaming series to reining in “mini-rooms” used to skirt contractual pay practices to addressing the use of artificial intelligence.

unable to reach a deal in contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers before Monday’s contract expiration.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Shares of Paramount Global tumbled as much as 22% in early trading Thursday after the media conglomerate reported disappointing first-quarter 2023 results and slashed its dividend. Paramount posted a Q1 net loss of $1.12 billion, as revenue of $7.27 billion was down 1% on shortfalls in its TV media and filmed entertainment units. The company’s streaming business, which includes Paramount+ and Pluto TV, saw revenue rise 39% in the first quarter to $1.5 billion. However, the direct-to-consumer segment posted a loss of $511 million, growing 12% compared with the year-earlier period. The company said Paramount+ added 4.1 million subscribers in the quarter, coming to a total of 60 million overall.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish addressed the writers strike during Paramount’s Q1 earnings call Thursday, stating that writers are “an essential part of creating content” and “we hope we can come to a resolution that works for everyone fairly quickly.” However, the Paramount chief added, “it’s also fair to say there’s a really big gap.” “Obviously, we’ve been planning for this, we do have many levers to pull and that’ll allow us to manage through the strike, even if it’s for an extended duration,” Bakish said. “In terms of those levers, we have a lot in the can, so to speak, content in the can. So with the exception of things like late-night, consumers really won’t notice anything for a while. Add to that a broad range of reality, unscripted, where we’re definitely a leader, as well as sports, and that’s not effected, so we can do more in those areas, if necessary.”

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Paramount Global said it would it cut its dividend as continued investment in streaming weighed on the company while it saw declines in its traditional revenue from advertising and cable distribution. The owner of CBS, Nickelodeon and the Paramount movie studio said its first-quarter loss came to nearly $1.23 billion, or $1.81 a share, compared with a profit of $775 million, or 58 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue was essentially flat, down 1%, on shortfalls in its TV media and filmed entertainment units, while its streaming operations saw revenue rise 39%. “We are focused on continuing to drive market-leading streaming growth while navigating a dynamic macroeconomic environment,” said Bob Bakish, the company’s chairman and CEO, in a statement.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that he is prepared to help mediate the Writers Guild of America strike, adding that it will have “profound consequences” on all Californians. “Both sides are dug in,” Newsom said in an interview with MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle at the Milken Institute Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton.