Can’t get enough of SpongeBob SquarePants? You’re in luck! Soon you’ll be able to watch your favorite show on demand.
Nickelodeon owner Viacom recently announced its plan to offer a stand-alone Internet offering that focuses on mobile viewers for the popular cable channel. Full details and offerings for the plan, which launches in March, haven’t been released yet so it’s still unclear how much subscribers will pay and if they will get the same services as cable and satellite TV subscribers or access to supplemental content and archives of past shows.
What we do know from this news, however, is that Viacom sees the long-term benefits of recurring revenue. When the company didn’t renew its contract with Netflix in 2013, it shut off streaming access to popular shows like SpongeBob. As a result, Viacom knew this service would be attractive to the parents of SpongeBob-loving children, who would buy into purchasing a subscription that allows them to take SpongeBob on the road with them via tablet or smartphone. As consumers continue to shift away from cable and towards streaming, Viacom needed to find a way to continue to monetize Nickelodeon’s most popular shows. Looks like they found an answer – the new subscription service will guarantee a continuous revenue stream.