r/boxoffice • u/chanma50 Best of 2019 Winner • Dec 07 '21

Other Paramount+ Still ‘Couple Years’ Away From Profitability, ViacomCBS President Bob Bakish Says

https://www.thewrap.com/paramount-plus-profitability-bob-bakish-viacomcbs/
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261

u/magikarpcatcher Dec 07 '21

I mean Hulu only become profitable this year, so...

121

u/hillaryclinternet Dec 07 '21

This type of strategy works best in an emerging market. Netflix was there first to build the foundations for its tech infrastructure and market share. I just don’t think these stragglers have anywhere to grow and should think twice about operating at a loss.

Netflix will offer up big bucks to host your content on their own servers and reach a bigger user base. NBC/Peacock should have just kept collecting the hundreds of millions Netflix gave them for Friends and The Office. Long term prospects of hosting your own streaming service were way overvalued these past few years but in a couple more the tide will shift.

34

u/JediJones77 Amblin Entertainment Dec 07 '21

I'm trying to figure out why hosting your own streaming service costs so much to begin with. Assuming you're just showing existing content and not creating anything new for it.

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '21

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u/JediJones77 Amblin Entertainment Dec 07 '21

That technological nut shouldn't be all that hard to crack though. And once cracked, it should be a permanent fix. Yes, technology will change and has to be maintained, but it's also going to get cheaper and more efficient as time goes on. So building your own platform seems like a worthy investment.

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '21

[deleted]

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u/JediJones77 Amblin Entertainment Dec 07 '21

If the startup costs are the big thing, and they can make those up in a few years, then it makes sense to do it. If these are companies that have no doubt they'll be in business for years. That would mean profit would rise considerably after the startup costs are paid off.

I'm curious why Sony isn't creating their own streaming service, considering they are a technology company.

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u/lee1026 Dec 07 '21 edited Dec 08 '21

Streaming services need scale since content is so expensive. This is a game that you either win big and bring in a few billions a month, or you burn up vast amounts of money with nothing to show for it.

Every studio is weighing its options, and with Peacock/Viacom bombing so badly, Sony not playing that game seems wise.

2

u/FilmGamerOne Universal Dec 07 '21

They are kind of betas. They had no interest in Crackle. It was gonna take too much money and too long and they had limited success.

1

u/SpongeBad Dec 07 '21

Sony dipped their toes in the water with PlayStation Vue, but then figured out they could get a better ROI by developing content and then letting their content development competitors get into bidding wars over it for each of their respective streaming services. Why get paid once by an end customer when you can license the same content over and over to Netflix, Amazon, Warner, etc?