Spence-Crawford fallout: Any truth to the Showtime-Paramount rumors?

Please show the source that says Showtime extended their deal for 2 years. I could not find any information on that.

Absolutely false. Showtime just extended their deal with PBC until the end of 2024. The whole Showtime/Paramount rumor began with an article by Variety, stating that Paramount was considering a merger between Paramount+ - the streaming service - and Showtime. The article was aggregating information from an article by the Wall Street Journal. Most people don't have a WSJ subscription so they couldn't read the original article. The original article clearly stated that Paramount+ was considering the idea of a merger with "Showtime's standalone streaming service." It was basically a potential merger of streaming services, not the network itself. A merger similar to what's happening between HBO Max and Discovery+. You can't merge a cable network with a streaming provider. Showtime generated 7 billion in revenue last year, much of that from their deals with countless cable outlets, satellite and streaming services. People who know absolutely nothing about how the television business works, ran with some scenario that makes zero sense, that a cable network would merge with a streaming platform. awesome. Thanks for the heads up.....

I read on twitter that the reason the fight couldn't get made this year was that Showtime cant fund any events until they negotiate whatever situation they have going with Paramount. Does anyone know if there is any truth to this story? Absolutely false. Showtime just extended their deal with PBC until the end of 2024. The whole Showtime/Paramount rumor began with an article by Variety, stating that Paramount was considering a merger between Paramount+ - the streaming service - and Showtime. The article was aggregating information from an article by the Wall Street Journal. Most people don't have a WSJ subscription so they couldn't read the original article. The original article clearly stated that Paramount+ was considering the idea of a merger with "Showtime's standalone streaming service." It was basically a potential merger of streaming services, not the network itself. A merger similar to what's happening between HBO Max and Discovery+. You can't merge a cable network with a streaming provider. Showtime generated 7 billion in revenue last year, much of that from their deals with countless cable outlets, satellite and streaming services. People who know absolutely nothing about how the television business works, ran with some scenario that makes zero sense, that a cable network would merge with a streaming platform.

I read on twitter that the reason the fight couldn't get made this year was that Showtime cant fund any events until they negotiate whatever situation they have going with Paramount. Does anyone know if there is any truth to this story? PBC didn't have to rely on Showtime to fund this fight...Fox is also a player in this & you know that they would have loved to fund this fight. How's Soupy doing? ;)

It seems plausible… No way of knowing for sure though.

I'm curious what this is all about...just to bump this thread.