Will
pay-channels now expand further into original TV content?
Viacom
announced yesterday that they are partnering with three film studios—Lionsgate,
MGM and Paramount—to launch a new pay-TV channel. Chief executive
Philippe Dauman told Variety
that the joint venture is not designed as a competitor to HBO or Showtime,
but, rather is a way for the three to pool their considerable back catalogue
(which includes the James Bond and Indiana Jones franchises, as well
as such movie classics as Titanic and Breakfast at Tiffany’s)
into a co-owned distribution vehicle that will supposedly include online
availability. Although it potentially dries up an additional source
of revenue by eliminating selling such content to the likes of HBO and
Showtime, “Other pay TV insiders suggested the new channel wasn’t
so much a new opportunity as it is a last-ditch effort to wring some
sort of value out the rapidly-diminishing pay cable window,” Variety
writes. “Services such as Netflix have made it easier than ever
for consumers to watch pics well before they hit HBO or Showtime.”
The deeper
story, however, is the apparent further split between corporate-cousins
Viacom and CBS. The three studios involved all have contracts with CBS-run
Showtime set to expire shortly that will now not be renewed, which means
the pay channel will become severely deficient in first-run film content.
Ironically enough, however, Showtime has actually experienced signs
of success as of late against rival HBO due to such self-produced television
series like Dexter and Weeds. “We’ve been
having unbelievable success with our original programming,” Showtime
CEO Matt Blank told Variety. “Can you name one movie
Showtime has aired in the last three years? But people sure do know
The Tudors and Californication and Dexter
and Weeds.” Will the new Viacom venture—which reportedly
will have original television programming as well—result in even
more cutting-edge TV from HBO and Showtime than they currently offer?
Is this yet another sign of the changing times in the ongoing revolutionization
of the television industry? The
Hollywood Reporter points out, after
all, that even subscription channel Starz recently greenlighted its
first original drama, Crash. Stay tuned...
—Anthony
Letizia (April 21, 2008)
