Showtime's Rebrand Hints at Chaotic TV Year Ahead

The TV climate is getting harsher, so streamers and networks are bundling up. On Monday, Paramount announced that the Showtime linear channel will officially rebrand as Paramount+ with Showtime on Jan. 8. The company, which previously made its Paramount+ with Showtime streaming option available in June, announced that the linear channel rebrand creates a "first-of-its-kind multiplatform brand" to integrate both streaming and linear content. Industry experts told Adweek the move highlights the need for traditional networks to adapt in the age of streaming, with the rebrand having the potential to expand Showtime's reach by providing access to a broader Paramount+ audience. However, this particular rebrand is not so much a first-of-its-kind experience, but more of an ongoing TV trend of consolidation, bundling and platform integration. "As platforms seek to offer more comprehensive content libraries, more rebrands and integration of services might be seen in 2024 and beyond," Tony Marlow, CMO at LG Ad Solutions, told Adweek. "It also emphasizes the importance of strong, recognizable brands in the streaming wars, where content and ease of access are key drivers of subscriber growth and retention." Though leaning on recognizable brands may be the way forward in the streaming space, the industry's consolidation and rebranding have the potential to cause some issues. How Paramount+ Hit 63 Million Subscribers and Increased Revenue 61% "While it is interesting to see the advancement of linear and streaming coming together in a more strategic way, it is confusing for consumers because Showtime is now adopting the name of a Paramount streaming service—Paramount+ with Showtime, which is the streaming service's premium tier," said Mike Proulx, vp and research director at Forrester. "However, not all of the content from the streaming service is going to be on the rebranded cable network." As Forrester noted, several Showtime and Paramount+ series will be integrated into the rebranded linear network, including Halo, Sexy Beast and Taylor Sheridan's Mayor of Kingstown, but the linear channel won't have all of the Paramount+ offerings. For Proulx, from a messaging and product design standpoint, the move has the potential to leave consumers "a bit perplexed with what they're actually paying for." And where there's one change, there could be more, according to Hunter Terry, head of CTV at tech and data company Lotame. "I can only assume that Paramount plans to remove the name ‘Showtime’ altogether in the next 12 months and that this is a transitional name to assure its customers that Showtime and Paramount+ are one," Terry speculated. "I expect the ‘Showtime’ branding to flutter off into the ether similar to how HBO has from Max." The Show(time) must go on Earlier in the year, HBO Max also went through a rebrand when it combined its catalog with the Discovery+ streaming service, forming Max. For several industry experts, the Max and the Paramount+ with Showtime rebrands are responses to the changing media environment as their respective parent companies look to streamline services. However, some are less than impressed with the name changes. "Showtime rebranding here is very similar to HBO becoming Max," Brad Altfest, managing director of media and entertainment at tech and engagement company Agora, told Adweek. "The industry is so impressed with itself that it thinks rebranding '80s style is enough to capture a new audience. It's not." Altfest sees the Showtime rebrand as the continued consolidation and siloing of content throughout the industry, ultimately increasing costs, reducing consumer choice and pushing viewers away. "Paramount+ with Showtime is yet the next most literal representation online of bundling not a-la-carte, like the cable companies have provided, to little success," Altfest said. "With the number of streaming services required to see all the shows one is into, of course, the audience (especially the younger cohort) is coalescing around comments and clips or buying full episodes on social media rather than bothering with multiple individual streaming services." Streamers aren't content with their content Additional TV rebrands will be "par for the course" in 2024, according to Tameka Kee, deputy managing director at the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement, with more and more companies bundling services and licensing established titles as connected TV competition increases. Just this week, Fox's Tubi announced it's streaming DC titles thanks to a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, and Disney—a company that made headlines in 2017 by taking a hard stance against sharing its titles on Netflix—is once again licensing titles to Netflix. It all leads to a more muddled consumer-facing TV landscape. And that isn't changing anytime soon. "The rollups and mergers have already made it hard for people to identify which parent company owns their favorite channel, let alone a specific show. It's also often unclear whether a specific show is accessible via the FAST channel or bundle they may subscribe to," Kee said. "So while this [Paramount+ with Showtime] rebrand won't necessarily cause confusion, it doesn't seem like a move toward clarity."

Programming & Performance

Showtime's Rebrand Hints at a Chaotic TV Year Ahead

The Paramount+ with Showtime linear rebrand is the latest case of industry consolidation

Bill Bradley

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