Lead-In CBS Eyes OTT, Skinny Bundle Bucks Company Outlines Expectations for $3.75 Billion in Incremental Revenue by 2020
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Lead-In CBS Eyes OTT, Skinny Bundle Bucks Company outlines expectations for $3.75 billion in incremental revenue by 2020 BY JON LAFAYETTE offering,” he said. “Therefore a reasonable assumption would HILE SOME TV ex- be that we’re paid somewhere ecutives are losing sleep in the middle, say somewhere in Wabout over-the-top and the neighborhood of $4 per sub skinny bundles, CBS sees only per month.” dollar signs. CBS doesn’t think a good Those trends that are promising skinny bundle getting 4 million to disrupt the media ecosystem subs is a stretch. And when you are two of the reasons why CBS do the math, that’s another $200 is expecting to generate million in incremental revenue. $3.75 billion in incremental CBS believes there’s also ad- revenue by 2010. ditional money in retransmission Speaking at CBS’ inves- consent and reverse comp, in tor day, COO Joe Ianniello broader international program explained how the company sales and in using dynamic ad expects Showtime OTT insertion technology to monetize CBS’ Two Broke Girls Max (Kat Dennings) and Caroline and CBS All Access each to viewing outside the current C3 (Beth Behrs) could make some money buying the company’s generate $400 million in the stock if COO Joe Iannniello’s (inset) bullish forecast pans out. and C7 ratings windows. not too distant future. The rosy forecast pushed The basic math is that CBS’ stock price higher, closing CBS takes in about $8.25 a signing up for Netfl ix, Amazon, fi gure out how to succeed at at $54.71 on March 18, up from month for every Showtime sub- Hulu and other SVOD services. scale with a skinny bundle. And $53.13 a week earlier. scription, Ianniello said. For CBS That leaves a lot of upside, “for a skinny bundle to be suc- “We make no changes to our All Access, the company will seeing as Showtime has a 20% cessful, it will have to include forecasts at this point, but came take in $5 from the subscriber share of its current market and CBS,” Ianniello says. away with increased confi dence fee plus another $3.50 per sub CBS All Access will be bringing And as bundles get smaller, that CBS has substantial struc- in ad revenue. And CBS doesn’t on an original Star Trek series, the price for CBS goes up. “We tural growth ahead of it,” Omar think it’s unreasonable to expect Ianniello said. will get paid more than what Sheikh of Credit Suisse said in a both services to attract 4 million As for skinny bundles, CBS the traditional guys pay us, but research note. He ranks CBS as subs over the next fi ve years, thinks either a current distribu- probably not as much as our a top pick in the media business, given the way consumers are tor or a rich tech company will direct-to-consumer All Access along with Time Warner. launchPAD: PlayStation VR UNVEILED: March 15 ($600 for the Oculus Rift, $800 for the HTC AVAILABLE TO MARKET: Known as Project Vive VR). More than 230 developers and pub- Morpheus during its development, the PlaySta- lishers have committed to producing VR content for the system, with more than 160 gaming titles tion VR headset will hit retail in October in North in development. A Cinematic mode will allow us- America, Europe and Asia, with a $400 list price ers to watch videos on a six-inch virtual screen. for U.S. consumers. MINUSES: The $400 entry-level set includes NEW FEATURES: The headset will offer PlaySta- neither the PlayStation Camera nor the PlaySta- tion 4 owners a virtual reality experience for their tion Move motion controller, both crucial com- gaming console, with VR games and VR videos. ponents to the system’s VR experience. Sony PLUSES: The $400 price point comes in under will charge $100 more for a bundle that includes the asking prices for competing VR headsets those items. —Chris Tribbey 4 BROADCASTING & CABLE MARCH 21, 2016 BROADCASTINGCABLE.COM 0303_LeadIn.indd 29 3/18/16 4:43 PM FATES AND FORTUNES THE WATCHMANINDUSTRY MOVES Deputy Editor Michael Malone’s weekly look at the programming scene OF THE WEEK ■ (1) JONAS AGIN and (2) LAUREN KISILEVSKY were upped to VP roles at Disney Channels World- 1 wide. Agin, most recently executive director of Idol Chatter, Life & Death, original series for Disney XD, was named VP of original series for Disney Channel and Disney Indy Spirit XD. Kisilevsky was tapped as VP of original movies for Disney Channel, overseeing creative develop- IT ONLY TOOK 15 sea- ment. ■ (3) AUDREY LEE was appointed executive sons, but The Watchman VP and deputy general counsel for Lionsgate. Lee is fi nally seeing fi rst- comes to Lionsgate from Sony Pictures Entertain- 2 hand what we’ve long heard about American ment, where she was senior VP of legal affairs. ■ Idol—how the whole LISA GELB is joining the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau as deputy chief and chief of staff. She was deputy family can enjoy it Contestants La’Porsha Renae together. The offspring and Trent Harmon perform chief of the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau. are fi nally old enough to on American Idol. The Enforcement Bureau is the agency’s largest stay up for at least part bureau. ■ Katz Television Group has appointed TREVOR HEATON senior VP of political sales. Heaton, of Idol, and they go to 3 bed wanting more. Breakfast the day after centers on who had been VP of the segment, will oversee whether Dalton is more style than substance, if demure political sales across Katz divisions and regions. Sonika has the drive to win, and anything related to ■ LISA KRAMER was promoted to executive VP of TV licensing for Europe La’Porsha’s hair, Mackenzie’s teeth or J-Lo’s dress. and the Middle East at Paramount Pictures. Kramer previously was senior It was only after the kids were in bed that we adults VP of TV licensing for Europe and the Middle East. clicked on a different program that saw people booted out one by one. The performances and production in Lifetime’s murder mystery And Then There Were None were quite good. It was a big STATOFTHEWEEK swing by Lifetime, which has Roots, alongside History and A&E, coming May 30. 15% Big swings are what cut Growth in viewers for the second episode of Bounce TV’s through this cluttered TV world, Saints & Sinners from the premiere. Saints & Sinners, the suggests Susanne Daniels, a net’s fi rst scripted original drama, debuted March 6 and respected TV exec before she drew 1.3 million viewers in two airings, a record for Bounce. shifted to YouTube last summer Sam Neill, star of And (see Cover Story, page 6). Then There Were None. “There’s really fresh work being done on traditional TV,” said Daniels, singling out USA’s Mr. Robot. “Maybe it’s because you have to; with 400 THEY SAID IT scripted series, that forces you to think outside the box.” Finally, with March Madness upon us, we asked Jim “The fact that [Rebel Entertainment Partners’] Nantz about his favorite cities for the Final Four. He Richard Lawrence is complaining about my mentioned San Antonio and New Orleans, but came salary is actually hilarious. I met Mr. Lawrence back to Indianapolis. “The city is just built to host for 2 hours some twenty-one years ago. Neither sporting events,” said Nantz. “The streets fi ll with fans— I nor anyone involved in the day-to-day produc- there’s all this revelry in the air.” tion of my program has heard from him On April 4, there will be one NCAA basketball team in 20 years. Not a card, not a gift, not a left standing in Houston. Three days later, there will be fl ower, not a congratulations.” one Idol left standing in LA. —Judge Judy Sheindlin on March 15 in a statement regarding Alas, the 10 “soldiers” from And Then There Were Rebel Entertainment Partners’ lawsuit against CBS, which None will still be dead. alleges that CBS cut Rebel out of profi ts on both ‘Judge Judy’ Darren Michaels/Warner Bros. Entertainment; Ray Mickshaw/Fox; Mammoth Screen; BounceTV Screen; Mammoth Mickshaw/Fox; Ray Entertainment; Bros. Michaels/Warner Darren and ‘Hot Bench’. BROADCASTINGCABLE.COM MARCH 21, 2016 BROADCASTING & CABLE 5 0303_LeadIn.indd 30 3/18/16 4:43 PM.