Dear Dave - So Far, Paramount's Streaming App is a Big Minus
The new Oracle of the media business needs to completely start over in CTV
*A live look at most people’s experience with Paramount+
Paramount recently turned a lot of heads in the media and tech universes when it laid out $7.7 billion to lock up the rights for Ultimate Fighting Championship for the next decade.
In the meantime, the Paramount+ streaming service continues to function as if the company spent roughly $7 on the app.
I know new Paramount owner David Ellison just got there. And he himself has alluded to the clunky Paramount+ app experience. But Dave (can I call you Dave?) this needs to be priority 1. Because if you go live with the UFC next year with the current app, I’m concerned that Conor McGregor may show up at your estate in LA and beat the crap out of you.
Consider this an open letter.
Dear Dave-
You say you want to be a ‘tech company.’ You want to compete with the biggest players in streaming. Build up the Paramount+ subscriber base. Some say you may even want to buy Warner Discovery, compete with Netflix. Build a Super App.
You can’t do any of that if people can’t watch the shows. You can’t fund any of that if brands’ ads can’t actually run. And right now, it’s a crapshoot whether either of those thing can happen with any consistency.
Here’s my recent experience trying to watch the Taylor Sheridan show “Lioness.”
Season 2 of the Zoe Saldana-starring series features a suicide bomber. As I waited for the show to load for the umpteenth time, I thought about blowing myself up, just to make the pain go away.
Here’s the thing Dave - you say you want to be a tech company, an ambition that I admire. The thing is, to be a tech company, you need to have good technology. You know what almost always works for me and my family? Netflix.
You know what rarely ever buffers or crashes out? YouTube.
How much more streaming volume are these two companies handling compared to Paramount? It’s not even close. So what should make people think that the current Paramount+ app can handle more stuff?
Just in my recent round of Taylor Sheridan binging:
I’ve consistently been unable to start episodes of shows without shutting the app multiple times
That’s if the app loads at all
Then, if I watch the show, often it just stops for no reason
Ads sometimes just appear on the screen, even over content
The same ads run again and again (there is science content on TikTok - I get it Neil deGrasse Tyson)
Hey Mike, you know, it could be your TV, maybe your Wi-Fi. Guess what, nobody cares.
Plus, it’s not just me. You hear it all the time from industry execs. As one put it to me, “it’s a complete piece of shit.” Or, if you don’t want to take my word for it, just Google “Paramount Plus reviews.”
From Reddit: Paramount+ is astoundingly bad.
Is it just on my end or is the Paramount plus app complete trash?
Paramount Plus is legit the worst streaming service app there is.
It’s bad. It needs to be fixed, yesterday. Dave, remember when President Trump announced Operation Warp Speed to develop a Covid vaccine? This needs to be like that.
(I realize that’s an ironic reference in this case, given that “Star Trek” fans can’t even watch Star Trek on Paramount+ - yet somehow the company has managed to release an app that looks like it was designed in 1966, when “Star Trek” first aired).
Because, Dave, you’ve got the NFL about to start, you’ve already got Premier League in the works. The UFC is next year, and it seems pretty clear that you guys are planning to be super aggressive on content spending. You’ve even pulled the Stranger Things creative team over from Netflix -which could be a game-changer.
Or an utter disaster if people can’t watch the shows, or if advertisers can’t reliably get what they paid for.
Simply put, this app wonkiness won’t be acceptable for much longer if you want to play in the big leagues. Dave, I know you have a lot going on right now, including a ton of layoffs, but you need a new app team, and entirely new technology, ASAP.
You might think that I’d suggest you include the current Paramount+ development team to be included in the coming layoffs. In fact, it’s the opposite.
I want you to pay them, handsomely. Whatever it takes so that they promise to leave the industry and never make a streaming app again.
Because with all seriousness, it would be awesome to see a renewed Streaming Wars unfold in our industry. Here’s hoping you go for it. Except that advertisers, creators, Hollywood executives -nobody’s going to fully trust you if you can’t get the basics right.
Thanks Dave. Best of Luck.
Love,
Mike