Variety: Paramount+ Is Now Free for Charter’s Spectrum Select TV Select Customers

Story from Variety:

As part of trying to keep cable TV customers from cutting the cord, Charter Communications is now offering the ad-supported version of Paramount+ to all Spectrum TV Select and Mi Plan Latino packages nationwide — for no additional fee.

The new offer, available starting Aug. 22, is part of the companies’ renewed multiyear distribution agreement, inked in May. Paramount+ Essential provides streaming access (with ads) to programming from CBS, BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and more. Charter’s Spectrum video customers now have access to more than 40,000 TV episodes and movies, including original series like “Tulsa King,” “Special Ops: Lioness,” “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Big Brother,” plus live sports on CBS.

“This partnership not only enhances the viewing experience with access to top-rated original content and live sports, but it also creates new distribution opportunities for Paramount and is a significant step towards building a healthier video ecosystem that benefits both our customers and the industry as a whole,” Tom Montemagno, executive VP of programming acquisition for Charter, said in a statement.

Under the Paramount-Charter pact, the cable operator also plans to launch BET+ Essential for Spectrum TV customers sometime later in 2024.

For Paramount, the addition of Paramount+ Essential to Charter’s TV plans comes after it hiked retail streaming prices effective Aug. 20. The price of Paramount+ Essential increased by $2, to $7.99 per month for all new subscribers (while Paramount+ With Showtime went up by $1, to $12.99 per month). Paramount Global execs have said they will count only those Charter customers who have activated Paramount+ Essential in its streaming sub counts. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but typically in such deals the distributor (i.e. Charter) pays a wholesale per-sub fee to the content owner (Paramount).

Paramount Global, like other traditional media companies, has struggled with declining TV revenue as it tries to boost its streaming biz and has undertaken mass layoffs to cut costs. Its fate is currently in limbo: The board’s special committee on M&A is evaluating a new $6 billion bid from an investor group led by Edgar Bronfman Jr., putting on hold its deal to merge with David Ellison’s Skydance Media.

The streaming components of the Paramount-Charter deal are similar to the agreement the cable operator struck last year with Disney, under which select Spectrum TV customers are able to access Disney+ and ESPN+ for no additional charge.

“Paramount and Charter have a long-shared commitment to deliver more ways for audiences to enjoy their favorite premium content as the media landscape continues to evolve,” said Ray Hopkins, Paramount’s president of U.S. networks distribution. “We look forward to expanding our reach and engagement with Spectrum subscribers through the addition of Paramount+ Essential for the first time, a broad household offering with something for everyone across our leading portfolio of news, sports and entertainment programming.”