Project Paramount - Rebuilding CBS Studios and Showtime

Much like Paramount Pictures, I’m not going to talk about what CBS Studios should do creatively because, again, creativity shouldn’t be mandated by the suits, and creators should have a playground to tell their own stories, share their own experiences, and create their own visions without the political and cultural interference of studio executives and owners. CBS Studios, as di  all television studios, should allow creators to create.

I also want CBS Studios to understand the collective legacy of their past. CBS Studios foundation was built by CBS Productions (which gave the world Perry Mason, The Honeymooners, Gunsmoke,  The Twilight Zone, Hawaii Five-0, and The Carol Burnett Show),  Desilu Productions (the studio founded by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and produced iconic shows like I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffin Show, The Untouchables, Mannix, and Star Trek) , the original Paramount Television (one of the most iconic television studios that produced shows that changed the culture including The Brady Bunch, The Odd Couple, Happy Days, Taxi, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, Family Ties, Cheers, MacGyver, Wings, Girlfriends, and Everybody Hates Chris), King World Productions, Spelling Entertainment, and Viacom Productions (which include library shows like My Three Sons, The Beverly Hillbillies, Bonanza, Cannon, and Matlock). 

CBS Studios still has the potential to be a premier television production studio, but it largely should present itself as a major television production studio beyond its own outlets.

  • Fully reestablish CBS Studios as a production company for original programming for third-party networks and streamers. Paramount Television would be used for more premium television productions.
  • Launch themed curated channels for third-party streamers focused on comedy, drama, westerns, and sci-fi. And all of these should be under the CBS brand, as mentioned earlier.
  • Put Pluto TV completely and directly under CBS Studios management. Considering a bulk of the free AVOD streamer is comprised of library shows, this seems like a no-brainer that the CBS Studios side of the company should manage the streamer. 
  • Develop new television projects based on older (pre-1990s) dramatic shows including Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone, Bonanza, Mannix, Cannon, and Mission: Impossible that could be pitched and sold to third parties as well as air on CBS and in-house streamers.  There is still value in the originals, and there's always a place for them. While you can't recreate the past, you could adapt and modernize SOME (not all) of those classic dramatic shows Yes, Mission: Impossible should return to its television roots. And I feel a lot of these older IPs would work in animation as well as in live-action. Speaking of animation...
  • Merge CBS Eye Animation Productions and Nickelodeon Animation as a combined television animation studio under CBS Studios to produce animation based on original properties and established IP using traditional and 3D animation, including adult and dramatic works, for first-and-third-party outlets. South Park Studios and Avatar Studios will remain autonomous units within the newly-combined studio.
This last suggest may seem like a bit of a deviation but bear with me for a few minutes. 

Taking a cue from its radio past, initiate scripted audio dramas and comedies for streaming/podcast networks and platforms. This may be considered off-course, but considering scripted audio programming is becoming profitable and popular again, perhaps a studio that has historically produced that kind of material long ago could reintroduce that legacy to today’s audiences. 

Recreate and restore radio shows of the past, including Broadway is My Beat, CBS Mystery Theater, My Friend Irma, Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, Studio One, and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, as well as create new audio series based on established IP, particularly comedies, and original stories. They've made a Twilight Zone audio adaptation years ago, so they know the format works. Why not do a Star Trek audio series? Or maybe a version of Frasier that is purely the radio show made famous on the series? 

Audio is the new video, and CBS Studois could really lean into that part of its legacy.


I'll keep it a little short when it comes to Showtime. As a brand, I already know it's on borrowed time. The fact that Paramount changed the name of the channel to Paramount+ with Showtime shows how much disrespect they have for the brand as a whole. Yes, while premium linear television isn't as prominent as it once was, it's still something people pay for and value. 

I get and understand why Paramount+ has become more of a focus these days, especially in this streaming climate, but it didn't have to supersede and cannibalize Showtime in the process. Especially by lessening it in their own name. So, let's modernize Showtime for the future.

  • Simplify it. Rename Paramount+ with Showtime as SHOWTIME and restore The Movie Channel as the premiere movie-only outlet. Two core channels with those brands. Continue to bundle them with Paramount+ to Showtime/TMC subscribers. As for their spinoff multiplex channels, I'll come back to those in a bit.
  • Continue to present various Paramount+ original series on Showtime and original movies on The Movie Channel.
  • Invest in original series for Showtime from CBS Studios, Paramount Television, and third-party producers. 
  • Similarly, invest in original movies for The Movie Channel. There would be a minimum of 12 original films per year with at least two of them animated. 
There is one more thing that I want to do with Showtime, or, rather, the third brand. As confusing as it may seem, Showtime has three premium movie network brands, Showtime, The Movie Channel, and FLIX. FLIX is a smaller-tier linear brand, and as such, it's on the lower-end of the attention at the company. 

I feel that linearly-speaking, FLIX should be the multiplex brand for Showtime. Rechristen the SHOWTIME multiplex channels under the FLIX branding, uncut and commercial-free. FLIX by Showtime should be a budget-friendly alternative much like STARZ’s Encore channels and the secondary channels of MGM+. 

While Showtime and The Movie Channel should be seen as premier linear outlets, FLIX should be where “the good stuff” lives. All movies, all the time, from the golden age to the modern age. 

This includes:
  • FLIX by Showtime, home of "the good stuff" 
  • FLIX Showcase (prestige and indie films, documentaries, and special programming), formerly Showtime Showcase 
  • BET FLIX (Black-themed films and documentaries) 
  • Spike FLIX (a male-focused network dedicated to westerns, military, action, horror, and sci-fi films), formerly Showtime Extreme 
  • Nick FLIX (family-friendly films and specials), formerly Showtime Family
  • FLIX Women, formerly Showtime Women
  • FLIX Retro (with pre-2000 films), replacing The Movie Channel Xtra. 

Additionally, I’d launch FLIX Sampler, a channel for Pluto TV and third-party streamers with uncut films to get folks acquainted with the FLIX branding with each day themed around the six branded FLIX channels with Sundays being a spotlight night for a single genre or star-of-the-month. It could be offered linearly in the slot formerly occupied by Showtime NEXT, whose programming would be scattered across the other channels.

The FLIX channels could be offered as mid-range premium channels across linear cable and satellite services or packaged with Showtime and The Movie Channel at no extra charge linearly. They will also be streamed exclusively on ad-free Paramount+ tiers. 

I think after talking about a pioneering cable brand like Showtime, I need to wrap this project up next week by rebuilding another pioneering cable brand. 

No, not MTV. I did that back in September.

That's right, folks, I'm going to rebuild The Nashville Network! Good old TN... it's Nickelodeon. I'm rebuilding Nickelodeon. 

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