SkyShowtime Boss Monty Sarhan Says “We Are Sending A Message” On Pricing & Backs David Zaslav’s Claims Over Bundling

deadline.com:

“We are sending a message that our content doesn’t have to cost a fortune to watch,” said the CEO of fledgling streamer SkyShowtime, who backed David Zaslav’s recent suggestion that rival streamers should bundle together.

Monty Sarhan took the reins of the Comcast/Paramount Global JV last year and has since overseen the hiring of 180 staff across seven offices, a rollout to more than 20 European territories in which Comcast’s Peacock and Now TV, and Paramount+ aren’t present, and the commissioning of a number of original series.

Speaking to Deadline before a NEM keynote in Dubrovnik, he said SkyShowtime’s pricing structure had been forged in response to “double digit inflation, a cost-of-living crisis and with war raging in Ukraine.” “We are leaning into a consumer value proposition that puts consumers at the forefront, and we launched at a lower price point than our competitors for that reason,” said Sarhan. “We are sending a message that our content doesn’t have to cost a fortune to watch.” SkyShowtime is now available in the likes of the Nordics, Portugal, Spain and Poland at between €3.99 ($4.30) and €6.99 ($7.50) per month depending on territory.

The streamer is “ahead of our subs projections across all markets,” according to the CEO. He backed Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) boss Zaslav’s recent suggestion that rival services will need to bundle together to survive, using SkyShowtime – which combines the might of two legacy Hollywood studios’ back catalogs – as an exemplar. “One of the important ways we can create value is by bundling,” added Sarhan, a former Comcast SVP of Content Acquisition. “Our two shareholders have done exactly that.