The venerable sci-fi franchise “Star Trek” means different things to different people — and that’s even true for creators and cast members of the latest TV series, “Discovery.” (Nov. 3) AP
CBS and Viacom are again talking about a merger — a media marriage that would continue to accelerate the consolidation of content creators.
The resulting merger could have repercussions for TV lovers, whether they have cut the cord or are wedded to traditional pay-TV systems.
Remember the two companies split in 2005, but today CBS and Viacom both face an evolving competitive landscape. There’s a potentially stronger Disney, flush from spending $52.4 billion for key assets from Fox including its TV and movie studios, an AT&T-Time Warner media behemoth and Comcast, which less than two years ago added DreamWorks Animation to its already massive NBCUniversal portfolio.
The Disney-Fox deal still requires regulatory approval and the $85.4 billion AT&T-Time Warner transaction is scheduled to be argued in court next month (the Justice Department sued to block it for anti-competitive reasons). AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson this week said “we remain very confident that we’ll complete this merger.”
CBS and Viacom on Thursday separately announced special committees of independent directors to evaluate a possible merger, with both offering the qualifier that no guarantee of a transaction would occur.
But many Wall Street analysts have expected the two companies to consider a merger. In this media industry game of musical chairs, CBS and Viacom are among players needing to land a deal that improves their prospects.
“Consolidation is absolutely necessary,” said Joel Espelien, senior analyst for The Diffusion Group, a Plano, Tex.-based research firm.
CBS would gain multiple benefits from teaming with Viacom, not only in streaming video but also in traditional pay-TV delivery, says Rich Greenfield, a media and technology analyst with financial services firm BTIG in New York.
A deal could broaden the reach and programming strength of CBS All Access, the subscription streaming video service ($5.99 monthly) CBS launched more than three years ago. In addition to live CBS local channels, CBS All Access offers original shows such as Star Trek: Discovery and The Good Fight, plus an on-demand library of current programs such as The Big Bang…
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