Wait, Is BET Worth More Than Showtime?
Bet you wouldn’t have picked BET as Paramount Global’s hottest commodity of 2023.
A few months ago, we all nearly performed a spit-take on our laptop screens upon learning that Paramount had rejected a $3 billion bid for Showtime. These days, bids rolling in for another Paramount Global brand, BET, started at — and have since eclipsed — that price point, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told IndieWire.
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Paramount is actively soliciting bids for its BET group (made up of BET, streamer BET+, BET Studios, and VH1) in what our source described as an organized multi-round auction process. Participants get access to each of the brand’s (otherwise undisclosed) revenue and earnings, apply their own multiples, and arrive at an independent value. The data is considered privileged and the potential buyers must sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
One equity analyst we spoke with for this story said $3 billion for the BET collective “sounds really high.” He’s not alone, though our source inside the negotiation process stressed that line of thought to be limited. BET could unlock hidden value under new ownership. Not only does it just make sense for a media group targeting Black audiences to have a Black owner, it could make (many) more dollars that way. For starters, there are additional revenue opportunities with companies looking to advertise with Black-owned businesses.
Counted among the prominent bidders for BET are Byron Allen, Diddy, Tyler Perry, and a group that includes Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Shaquille O’Neal, and “Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris. There are no bad options here.
You know who would have been a good option as the new leader of Showtime? The old leader of Showtime. David Nevins, with the backing of private-equity firm General Atlantic, was the one who presented that $3 billion bid. Paramount instead chose to use the Showtime brand and its programming to beef up Paramount+.
We should point out here that while the (current) BET offers and (expired) Showtime offer are interesting both in terms of their size and similarity, they’re not really apples to apples. Since Showtime was never put up for auction and the offer only became public after it was declined, Nevins’ $3 billion bid should not be considered Showtime’s official market value. The offer may be high or it may be low (clearly it was too low to Paramount) or it may be close, but it was not a number derived from an open process like BET’s.
On June 27, Paramount+ and Showtime are coming together as the rebranded Paramount+ with Showtime, which will replace the top tier Paramount+ platform (for $2 more than it currently costs). Later this year, Showtime’s OTT (over-the-top) app will be shut down and its linear channel will be rebranded at the same time.
Paramount+ with Showtime, or at least the “with Showtime” part, will focus heavily on the expansion of existing Showtime series. “Billions” and “Dexter” are first up, with comebacks from “Weeds” and “Nurse Jackie” reportedly in the works. Executives expect the new approach will create more value for the company overall than a sale would have brought in.
Nevins was not the first to come for Showtime. He wasn’t even the first former Showtime executive — or the most generous — to flash cash at Paramount Global’s controlling shareholder Shari Redstone. Fellow alum Mark Greenberg, with the help of private investment bank Blackstone Inc., offered $6 billion for Showtime just two years ago, according to the Wall Street Journal. That’s quite a few billions, and a hell of a lot of “Billions.”
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