Higher prices, fewer shows and more franchise spin-offs: The bill for peak TV is coming due, and media companies are hoping they can pass on the cost to consumers and shareholders. Paramount Global’s announcement that it could write down as much as $1.5 billion in content this year as it merges Paramount+ and Showtime is just the latest sign of the newly cost-conscious stage of the streaming revolution, experts and analysts told TheWrap.
Paramount is just one of many media companies looking to rationalize their portfolios: Consider Disney’s Hulu dilemma or Warner Bros. Discovery’s pending plan to combine HBO Max and Discovery+.