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- Paramount+ is exploring adding podcasts, following a push from Netflix.
- A Paramount streaming executive said video podcasts could help drive engagement and discovery.
- Paramount has put short-form video on its service and is also looking at interactive features.
Paramount+ is planning to put podcasts on its signature streamer, Business Insider has learned.
Paramount Skydance streaming executives told tech and product staffers in a Thursday meeting that they see video podcasts as a growth opportunity.
Dan Reich, Paramount’s EVP of streaming product, told employees that his goal is to “get more of the video podcasts” and also “slice those up into segments for us to surface,” according to a recording of the call obtained by Business Insider.
Netflix added video podcasts in January, becoming the first major Hollywood streamer to push into the format long dominated by YouTube.
The theory is that podcasts — and short-form video, which Paramount+ has invested in — could help streamers boost engagement, particularly during the daytime.
Video podcasts can help with both “long-form discovery” and “viewing itself,” Reich said. He also cited the importance of autoplay, saying that TikTok has found success by creating “the expectation that something’s already playing” when users open the app.
A person familiar with Paramount’s approach framed the podcast push as an exploration and as part of the company’s culture of experimentation in tech and media.
Paramount is in talks with conservative podcaster Katie Miller for a distribution deal, Axios reported on Thursday. Axios also reported that Paramount has talked with podcast groups like Jubilee Media.
Ellison’s company distributes a handful of podcasts, including shows about hit shows “Yellowstone” and “Survivor,” as well as podcasts from late-night hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Those podcasts don’t currently appear on Paramount+, however.
Hugh Williams, a former Google exec who recently joined David Ellison’s Paramount as an EVP and “Executive in Residence,” said in the Thursday meeting that he’s “pretty excited about podcasts.”
“I think podcasts are great — I’m really glad we’re getting into that space,” Williams said on the call.
The product initiative to get podcasts onto Paramount+ began in early January and has a “target end” date of July 7, according to a screenshot of an internal project management dashboard viewed by Business Insider.
Another reference to the podcast project was labeled as a “key priority,” a screenshot viewed by Business Insider showed.
Podcasts on Paramount+ could “exist as their own series,” be tied to a franchise, or act as companion content, like an “aftershow,” the screenshot said.
Jazzing up Paramount+
Paramount has been busy bolstering its namesake streamer.
Reich said on the Thursday call that his team was working with Paramount’s news and sports groups to integrate some of their clips into the streamer.
“We’re working with CBS Sports and CBS News to get all of their clips, sports highlights, news highlights into the service,” Reich said. “That is a competitive advantage for us against companies like Netflix that don’t have that volume of content.”
Paramount+ added a short-form video feed in April on iOS mobile devices, which was a top first-quarter priority for the company.
The streamer is also looking to add interactive elements like a shopping feature and sports stats, which Williams nodded at.
“You can imagine sports scores, different ad formats, shoppable scenes,” Williams said on the call. “I think there’s just so much opportunity ahead of us.”
Ellison’s company is also combining the tech platforms for Paramount+ and Pluto TV this summer, and has brought together key technical teams to make that happen.
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