Videoage International November 2021

4 World V I D E O A G E November 2021 by the Miramax library is as yet unclear, but it is estimated at $200 million annually. Running worldwide con- tent sales required relatively low costs (about $40 million), while programming streaming services and cost per gaining subscribers (estimated at $22 per sub) requires more money. It is expected that ViacomCBS’s streaming services will lose $400 million this year, while next year it is estimated to make an $800 million profit. Still, this figure is much lower than the worldwide sales generated when all content was available to be licensed. However, some content will still be generating revenues by being licensed worldwide under a co-exclusivity program, wherein the studio’s streamers and linear clients share on a checkerboard basis. Some titles are available on owned DTC services, and other titles, such as the new NCIS and CSI series, are available to the usual clients. Rogers’ Real Succession Story A fter Rogers Communica- tions’ founder Ted Ro- gers died in 2008, the group began prepping itself for a real-life Succession story. The drama started when, on March 21, 2021, Rogers an- nounced its intent to acquire Show Communications for C$26 billion. The dispute centered around who was going to be the CEO of the combined groups. Ed Rogers III, the 52-year- old founder’s son, wanted to oust the 57-year-old Joe Natale as CEO and replace him with its CFO. The move backfired, and on October 21, 2021 Ed Rogers III was removed as Chairman of Rogers Communications and replaced with John McDonald. The move to replace Ed Rogers III was backed by the founder’s 82-year-old widow, Loretta Rogers, and two of her daughters, Martha Rogers and Melinda Rogers, who support Natale. The saga now continues in Canadian courts and in the boardroom. D uring a 30-minute interview with The Wall Street Journal on Monday, October 18, ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish reported that Paramount Plus and ad-supported service Pluto TV have generated $983 million in revenue in the second quarter of this year, a 92 percent increase in that category over the previous year. It is assumed that the increase was generated by the rebranding of CBS All Access as Paramount Plus in the U.S. However, based on those figures, one could estimate that total revenue for the year for Paramount Plus could be $3.9 billion if sales stay on a steady level. This compares to the $5.9 billion that various ViacomCBS content sales units used to generate annually worldwide until those sales were mostly sacrificed in order to enhance the streaming services with original and exclusive content. The Viacom group’s content sales revenues are estimated at $1.8 billion internationally and $2.4 billion domestically. For Paramount’s sales division, revenues are estimated at $1 billion internationally and $500 million domestically. Sales revenue generated Inside Paramount Plus: The Path To Make Money (Continued on Page 6)