Paramount and Comcast are sticking together. The two corporations have renewed their distribution agreement as part of a new multi-year deal, announced Tuesday. Under this agreement, Paramount’s portfolio of broadcast, entertainment, news and sports brands will continue to be available across Xfinity platforms.
Specifically, this carriage agreement means Xfinity platforms will continue to carry CBS, BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and Paramount Network, just to name a few of the company’s biggest channels. In addition to access to linear networks, Comcast subscribers will also have access to Paramount’s streaming services, which include Paramount+, Pluto TV and BET+.
This new deal does come with a bit of a bonus. Comcast now has the right to make Paramount+ with Showtime — the streamer’s premium tier that includes its library of award-winning content —available to qualifying Xfinity customers. However, the full terms of this agreement have not been publicly disclosed.
“We are pleased to renew and expand upon our broad partnership with Comcast,” Ray Hopkins, president of Paramount Distribution, said in a statement. “This new deal ensures that our dynamic portfolio of popular brands and premium programming continue to reach and entertain our valued audiences everywhere.”
“Paramount Global is a valued partner, and we are excited to continue providing Xfinity customers with access to their traditional and streaming content across our industry-leading entertainment platforms,” John Dixon, SVP of Entertainment for Comcast Cable, added. “This agreement gives us the ability to offer customers more choice and flexibility in what they want to watch and how they want to watch it.”
Paramount expanding its streaming offerings to Xfinity customers continues a shift in the TV industry. The issue first prominently came to a head in 2023 when channels owned by The Walt Disney Company blacked out during the corporation’s dispute with Charter Communications. That dispute was over streaming rights for cable providers, which have now become more commonplace in recent years.
