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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Snarf Zagyg" data-source="post: 9212743" data-attributes="member: 7023840">Separate deal.General comments on this-1. Paramount is well-known to be looking to sell. That's why they've been offloading certain assets recently (see, e.g., sale of Simon & Schuster). It's generally believed that Shari Redstone will only sell if the stock is above a certain point, and announcements like this are part of a concerted effort to get the stock over that point. Of course, all of this is complicated by the fact that Paramount owns CBS, and there are rules that prohibit consolidation of broadcasters.2. That said, there are really two bigger stories. The first is the rise of the bundles. I expect that you'll see a lot more of these. The really big one, IMO, is the Netflix/Max bundle through Verizon. But as the shakeout in streaming continues, we should see the rise of these bundles. Meet the new cable package!3. The other big story, which I assume we've all noticed (and which I hate!), is that we are seeing that premium streaming services being pushed as ad-subsidized. Did everyone notice that these new bundles are all for the ad-supported versions? Or that the amazing Black Friday deals for various streamers were exclusively for the ad-supported tiers? The dirty little secret is this- streamers make more money, per subscriber, with the ad-supported streaming services than they do with the regular services, and it's possible (although I don't know the metrics) that the churn is lower as well. As someone who despises advertisements, I hate this with a passion. But I expect that we will continue to see this .... ad-free services will get pricier and more difficult to obtain (perhaps even requiring year-long commitments) while ad-supported services will be ubiquitous and cheap.Remember- when a service is free (or heavily discounted) .... you are the product.</blockquote>

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