Why Paramount Needs to Add Cable Shows Quicker to Paramount+

Paramount really needs to fix this issue

Paramount's reputation with cable is still high. Their networks MTV, BET, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and VH1 can get over 500k viewers on their good days. Paramount has always been committed to cable exclusivity.

Paramount+ is the streaming home for their cable networks, except for BET since they also have BET+, but the shows that air on cable take way too long to stream on the service, specifically here in the US.

How long does it take to add these shows?

Shows on CBS are always available the following day on Paramount+ due to CBS signing contracts with their studio partners for in-season rights for the shows to be available on both CBS and Paramount+.

The only cable shows that had the next-day treatment are The Daily Show, Tha God's Honest Truth with Charlamagne Tha God, and NFL Slimetime (currently unavailable as the episodes are removed the following week after a new episode premieres on Nickelodeon).

For the other shows, Paramount stated that the current seasons of cable shows would be available on Paramount+ 1.5 years after the season finale. When those shows or seasons come to Paramount+, it’s usually the whole season or a batch of episodes, with the rest coming a few months after.

Now compare this with another country where Paramount+ is available. A good example is Australia, where Paramount+ streams the current season of The Challenge, compared to the US, with the latest season streaming available season 35’s Total Madness. (Though, Australians can only stream the last two seasons of The Challenge, while here we can stream seasons 10-35.)

The Problem

The 1.5-year wait is just too long. For MTV and VH1 shows, it’s weird that you have to wait that long to watch the latest episodes of a reality show. It’s way more convenient to access these cable series on Paramount+. It’s way better than getting a $65-70 service. There’s Philo, but the $25 service doesn’t add any value to the networks that only really air Ridiculousness, Wild n’ Out, and movies all day.

For Nickelodeon shows, they are currently behind Cartoon Network and Disney Channel as they are adding their shows quicker to HBO Max and Disney+. Disney Channel alternates when a show goes to Disney+ in episode batches or drops the whole season before they air it, while Cartoon Network is currently transitioning to next-day streaming. Because of the long wait, Paramount could also be losing its opportunity to start making its secondary networks (MTV2, Nicktoons, TeenNick) and making them available as linear channels on Paramount+ (TeenNick has commercial-free blocks).

I know that Paramount is still committed to cable exclusivity, but the thing is, the cable industry is a slowly dying business. While they can make the most out of it, while they still can, the streaming business should start being more focused. They can keep customers aware that their shows can be easily viewed on Paramount+ whenever they want to cut the cord.