{"id":13746,"date":"2021-02-08T22:58:05","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T03:58:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\/"},"modified":"2021-02-08T23:01:31","modified_gmt":"2021-02-09T04:01:31","slug":"viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\/","title":{"rendered":"ViacomCBS: Here to Stream, Here to Stay"},"content":{"rendered":"

In December 2019, CBS Corporation merged with Viacom Inc to form global media and entertainment company ViacomCBS Inc (VIAC) [NASDAQ][1]<\/a>. The merger combined CBS network, often dubbed the \u201cThe Tiffany Network\u201d for its legacy broadcasts, with the likes of MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and the Paramount movie studios. Together, ViacomCBS would own more than 140,000 TV episodes and 3,600 film titles. The company estimated that it would generate $28 billion in revenue annually [2]<\/a>. But by early 2020, ViacomCBS\u2019 headquarters in New York City was whirling with news of the Coronavirus pandemic. The future for the newly merged company was uncertain.<\/p>\n

In the early months of the pandemic, ViacomCBS lost over $120 million due to the abandonment of certain incomplete programs resulting from production shutdowns related to COVID-19. Advertising revenue decreased 11% year-over-year, primarily reflecting weakness in the advertising market as a result of COVID-19. The company generated little of the expected theatrical revenue due to the closure or reduction in capacity of movie theaters. The same was true for sports programming revenue for which the CBS has broadcast rights, due to rescheduling or cancellation of in-person sporting events.<\/p>\n

ViacomCBS swiftly underwent cost-cutting and cash-generating efforts to stop the hemorrhaging. In staying true to CEO Robert Bakish\u2019s [3]<\/a> mission to lead the market in video on demand, ViacomCBS sold off Simon & Schuster publishing house for $2.175 billion in November 2020, following a strategic review of non-core assets [4]<\/a>. ViacomCBS undertook numerous rounds of layoffs, some due to the planned restructuring after the merger, but many cuts were pandemic-related. <\/em>Looking ahead, the company plans to sell off CBS\u2019 New York headquarters \u201cBlack Rock\u201d for at least $1 billion after the coronavirus pandemic declines. But the pandemic\u2019s long-term impact on urban real estate prices market remains to be seen, and thus, so does the amount of cash generated by this asset-sale.<\/p>\n

Offensively, the company was intent on creating value proactively. ViacomCBS offset the decreased revenue from advertising with the strength in political advertising leading up to the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election and the 2021 SuperBowl. The company aggressively built out expanded distribution agreements, which placed ViacomCBS\u2019 leading portfolio of content providers on YouTube, Hulu, and more [5]<\/a>. And in response to the production delays and abandonments, ViacomCBS leveraged its deep library of existing content, which helped to offset anticipated revenue losses [6]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Notably, SuperBowl 55 was an optimal stage for ViacomCBS to leverage its own network\u2019s airtime to position Paramount+’s success. Before an audience of 100 million viewers only one month ahead of the launch of its March 4 launch date, ViacomCBS prominently featured Paramount+ promotions in pregame and postgame promos, digital and social exposure, spoken ads from on-air talent, and even in-game content teases.<\/p>\n

The coronavirus pandemic only accelerated longstanding industry trends of chord-cutting, as people are devouring content while quarantining at home. Given that the streaming wars will continue long after the pandemic declines, Paramount+ is aptly positioned to create and capture enormous value in a post-pandemic world. It has strategically differentiated itself from competitors by being the home hundreds of iconic American titles, such as “The Godfather,” “The Titanic,” and \u201cSpongeBob,\u201d the National Football League (NFL), and a full array of CBS News content. Subscribers can expect to pay $5.99 per month for limited commercials or $9.99 per month for the more premium option with no commercials, which is cheaper than its competitors Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max [7]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

ViacomCBS stock has consistently trended upward since the merger was finalized. In December 2019, ViacomCBS was trading at approximately $36. It consistently climbed to $54 by early February 2020, with the exception of the market\u2019s ubiquitous plummet at the onset of the pandemic in February and March of 2020 [8]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Figure 1- ViacomCBS share price history<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
ViacomCBS share price history<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the end of 2020 Q3, amid the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bakish celebrated ViacomCBS\u2019s success. \u201cAs we near the first anniversary of the ViacomCBS merger, I\u2019m thrilled about the way our organization has come together to realize the power of the combination and seize our unique global opportunity in streaming… We achieved strong user growth across our streaming platforms as we continue to build our linked ecosystem of pay and free services \u2013 with big steps taken, including the preview and brand reveal of Paramount+ ahead of its launch in early 2021\u2026 Our company\u2019s transformation is ahead of schedule and we are incredibly excited by the opportunities ahead.\u201d [9]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> ViacomCBS inc (VIAC) – financial and strategic SWOT analysis review. 2020. GlobalData Company Profiles – Financial and Strategic SWOT Analysis Review: 45, https:\/\/login.ezproxy.library.tufts.edu\/login?url=https:\/\/www-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.tufts.edu\/reports\/viacomcbs-inc-viac-financial-strategic-swot\/docview\/2475768768\/se-2?accountid=14434 (accessed February 8, 2021).<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Reuters Staff. \u201cCBS, Viacom Complete Merger in a Win for Shari Redstone.\u201d Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 4 Dec. 2019, www.reuters.com\/article\/us-viacom-m-a-cbs\/cbs-viacom-complete-merger-in-a-win-for-shari-redstone-idUSKBN1Y82ZF.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> “ViacomCBS”.\u00a0The Official Board.\u00a0January 15, 2021.\u00a0https:\/\/advance-lexis-com.ezproxy.library.tufts.edu\/api\/document?collection=company-financial&id=urn:contentItem:550C-H351-JB14-G3GY-00000-00&context=1516831.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> \u201cViacomCBS to Sell Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House for $2.175 Billion.\u201d 25 Nov. 2020, ir.viacomcbs.com\/news-releases\/news-release-details\/viacomcbs-sell-simon-schuster-penguin-random-house-2175-billion.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> \u201cViacomCBS and Google Announce Expanded Distribution Agreement.\u201d 7 May 2020, ir.viacomcbs.com\/news-releases\/news-release-details\/viacomcbs-and-google-announce-expanded-distribution-agreement.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> \u201cViacomCBS Statement on COVID-19.\u201d 27 Mar. 2020, ir.viacomcbs.com\/news-releases\/news-release-details\/viacomcbs-statement-covid-19.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> \u201cHow Much Will It Cost to Subscribe to the Ever-Expanding Streaming Universe?\u201d Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2019, www.latimes.com\/entertainment-arts\/tv\/story\/2019-10-10\/streaming-wars-per-month-total-shocking-apple-hbo-disney-netflix.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> \u201c ViacomCBS Inc. (VIAC) Stock Historical Prices &amp; Data.\u201d Yahooo Finance, 8 Feb. 2021, finance.yahoo.com\/quote\/VIAC\/history\/.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> 2020, Earnings Press Release: VIACOMCBS REPORTS Q3 2020 EARNINGS RESULTS, ir.viacomcbs.com\/static-files\/5c94dbc3-a0b0-438e-97e3-1b3fa5f9c38e.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Covid-19 pandemic only accelerated longstanding industry trends of chord-cutting, as viewers devour content while quarantining at home. ViacomCBS is aptly poised to create and capture enormous value in a post-pandemic world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18508,"featured_media":13747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[116,110,325,320,59,2936],"class_list":["post-13746","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-broadcasting","category-digital-video","category-media-industry","category-movies","category-streaming","category-streamingwars","hck-taxonomy-organization-viacomcbs","hck-taxonomy-industry-media-and-broadcasting","hck-taxonomy-country-united-states"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/assignment\/digital-winners-during-the-pandemic\/","yoast_head":"\nViacomCBS: Here to Stream, Here to Stay - Digital Innovation and Transformation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ViacomCBS: Here to Stream, Here to Stay - Digital Innovation and Transformation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Covid-19 pandemic only accelerated longstanding industry trends of chord-cutting, as viewers devour content while quarantining at home. ViacomCBS is aptly poised to create and capture enormous value in a post-pandemic world.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Digital Innovation and Transformation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-09T04:01:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/02\/viacomcbs-logo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"563\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\\\/\",\"name\":\"ViacomCBS: Here to Stream, Here to Stay - Digital Innovation and Transformation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/viacomcbs-logo.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-09T03:58:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-09T04:01:31+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/viacomcbs-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/viacomcbs-logo.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":563},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Submissions\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"ViacomCBS: Here to Stream, Here to Stay\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/\",\"name\":\"Digital Innovation and Transformation\",\"description\":\"MBA Student Perspectives\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"性视界Action\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ViacomCBS: Here to Stream, Here to Stay - Digital Innovation and Transformation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ViacomCBS: Here to Stream, Here to Stay - Digital Innovation and Transformation","og_description":"The Covid-19 pandemic only accelerated longstanding industry trends of chord-cutting, as viewers devour content while quarantining at home. ViacomCBS is aptly poised to create and capture enormous value in a post-pandemic world.","og_url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\/","og_site_name":"Digital Innovation and Transformation","article_modified_time":"2021-02-09T04:01:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":563,"url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/02\/viacomcbs-logo.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\/","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\/","name":"ViacomCBS: Here to Stream, Here to Stay - Digital Innovation and Transformation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/02\/viacomcbs-logo.jpg","datePublished":"2021-02-09T03:58:05+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-09T04:01:31+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/02\/viacomcbs-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/02\/viacomcbs-logo.jpg","width":1000,"height":563},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/viacomcbs-here-to-stream-here-to-stay\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Submissions","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"ViacomCBS: Here to Stream, Here to Stay"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/#website","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/","name":"Digital Innovation and Transformation","description":"MBA Student Perspectives","potentialAction":[{"@type":"性视界Action","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/13746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hck-submission"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18508"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13746"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/13746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13753,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/13746\/revisions\/13753"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}