Comcast, Paramount Global renews deal
CBS Chicago to stay on Xfinity systems; subscribers to get Paramount Plus
Paramount Global and Comcast announced a new carriage deal on Tuesday.
The multi-year deal includes Paramount’s portfolio of networks, including CBS and its owned stations, BET, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and others. Comcast subscribers will also continue to gain access to streamers Paramount Plus, BET Plus, and Pluto TV. Qualifying subscribers will also have access to Paramount Plus with Showtime in the future, which will feature programming from the premium service.
“Paramount Global is a valued partner, and we are excited to continue providing Xfinity customers with access to their traditional and streaming content across our industry-leading entertainment platforms.”, said John Dixon, Senior Vice President, Entertainment of Comcast Cable. “This agreement gives us the ability to offer customers more choice and flexibility in what they want to watch and how they want to watch it.”
Xfinity is the branded name Comcast uses to brand its internet products.
“We are pleased to renew and expand upon our broad partnership with Comcast,” said Ray Hopkins, President, Paramount Distribution. “This new deal ensures that our dynamic portfolio of popular brands and premium programming continue to reach and entertain our valued audiences everywhere.”
The deal includes CBS Chicago (WBBM-TV) as Comcast is the area’s largest cable provider. The deals also cover stations in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Minneapolis, Detroit, Atlanta, San Francisco, Sacramento, Seattle, and Denver (the stations are identified in the tags section below.) This comes as Skydance is purchasing Paramount Global, which is subject to approval from regulators, namely the FCC.
Cable companies have included streaming apps in their packages to prevent subscribers from canceling their subscriptions. Currently, Xfinity’s X1 and Flex customers can subscribe to Paramount Plus through Comcast, which handles the billing. Other premium streaming apps Xfinity customers can add include Disney Plus, Hulu, Max, Netflix, Peacock, and Prime Video.
While Xfinity customers won’t lose Paramount channels anytime soon, they did lose two Fuse Media channels on January 1. Once known as MuchMusic USA, Fuse offers off-network series and a limited number of original shows. Fuse is one of the few indie companies in the media ecosystem.
Meanwhile, Chicago Xfinity/Comcast viewers are still without Chicago Sports Network (CHSN) three months after launch, leaving some one million subscribers without access to Blackhawks and Bulls games, unless they purchase the CHSN app.