Paramount+’s Success Is in Leveraging ’the Whole Household,’ says Paramount Streaming Chief Tom Ryan (Podcast)
As the heavily fought streaming war continues, Tom Ryan, CEO of streaming at Paramount, attributes Paramount+’s success to leveraging “the whole household.”
“We set out to create a service for the whole household, so that means content for everyone [and] really getting more than one person in the household to engage with the service,” Ryan said on TheWrap’s “Tech vs Media” podcast with host Richard Wolpert, noting that the streaming services leverages all the content engines of Paramount, from sports to news to entertainment, to provide compelling content for all ages and demographics.
The streaming service also strategically utilizes Paramount brands to drive subscribers to Paramount+, including Pluto TV, which Ryan considers a “super funnel” due to its ability to funnel Pluto TV viewers to the streaming platform through premium branded content.
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“How do we use our broadcast, our cable and our digital assets from across the company to actively promote Paramount+ in such a way that we can really drive mass awareness and adoption for the product?” Ryan asked, pointing to advertising during the CBS-hosted Super Bowl that promoted Paramount+’s recent launch.
“We benefit from the relationship that CBS has with the NFL and other sports networks that we carry, plus news,” he said.
“Paramount+ is the type of business that can only exist as part of Paramount and can only exist through really close collaboration with our partners across the company, all the content, studios, distribution, ad sales, the international teams, you name it,” Ryan continued.
For this reason, Paramount is moving away from its “traditional web publishing business, except for where it pertains to [their] core media brands, and really evolving the business to be much more of a streaming business,” as seen by the recent divestiture with CNET Media Group.
Listen to the full episode below.
Episode highlights:
Tom Ryan says that Paramount+ is experiencing tremendous growth across different markets in Europe and Latin America
Tom Ryan breaks down the meaning of mega trend streaming — which he believes is the “future of media” — is “still in the early innings” and predicts the path to success.
Tom Ryan reveals that Pluto TV’s April Fools’ launch date was on purpose, as many thought the company were “fools” for embracing streaming, and how the date was “right on time.”
Tom Ryan admits that ViacomCBS got a pretty good deal when it bought Pluto TV for $340 million.
Tom Ryan explains how Pluto TV avoided being “smothered by the mothership” when it was bought by ViacomCBS and how Ryan was able to transition smoothly to his role there.
Tom Ryan says “never say never” to a future of short-form videos on streaming — but doesn’t see a huge opportunity for the format that has been given broad success to TikTok and Instagram.
About “Tech Vs. Media”
On each episode of “Tech Vs. Media,” host Richard Wolpert — who has decades of technology and media experience as an executive, founder of tech companies, venture capitalist and philanthropist — and one his esteemed guests will divulge enlightening lessons and give their insightful perspective on the movers, creators, disruptors and innovations that are shaping the future of media and technology and how these ever-changing industries will intertwine with one another.
New episodes of “Tech Vs. Media” drop weekly. You can listen on TheWrap.com, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.
