NEW YORK and EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—DirecTV and Paramount Global have signed a major deal that will launch about 20 of Paramount’s linear networks and all 15 of its major market CBS-owned stations on various DirecTV Genre Packs.

Paramount channels—including CBS, MTV, Comedy Central, BET and Nickelodeon—will begin rolling out in the Genre Packs starting immediately across the MySports, MyNews, MyEntertainment, and MiEspañol offerings as well as the new MyKids pack, which launches today.

“DirecTV is a valued partner, and we are pleased to expand our long-standing relationship by featuring our wide array of leading programming in DirecTV’s growing portfolio of Genre Packs,” said Ray Hopkins, president of Paramount U.S. Distribution. “Paramount is committed to exceptional content across broadcast, entertainment, news and sports, and we look forward to continuing to provide additional opportunities for audiences to broadly access and enjoy our fan-favorite programming and brands.”

Rob Thun, chief content officer at DirecTV, added: “Paramount is one of the world’s most influential programmers, and its broad portfolio—including the CBS Network local stations—provides essential channels to many of our different Genre Packs. Together, these combined services create a strong foundation for a more dynamic TV future, one that gives DirecTV subscribers enhanced choice and control through our industry-leading genre-based options.”

As part of its push to expand its Genre Packs, DirecTV also announced the launch of MyKids.

Priced at $19.99 per month, MyKids features a powerhouse lineup of family content, including Paramount’s Nickelodeon suite, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery networks, and several popular independent networks.

DirecTV also announced a broader expansion of DirecTV’s genre-based offerings, including MySports, MyEntertainment, MyNews, and MiEspañol, resulting from DirecTV’s new licensing agreement with Paramount Global.

DirecTV described those expanded lineups as follows:

• The new MyKids offering includes: Paramount’s Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Nick Jr., and TeenNick; Disney’s Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, and Disney+; Warner Bros. Discovery networks (Cartoon Network, Boomerang, and Discovery Family); such independent services as BabyFirst TV, LooLooKids TV, and MeTV Toons (launching 6/30). The MyCinema mini pack add-on will also be available to MyKids customers for $9.99/month.
• MySports, $69.99/month: MySports now includes 15 CBS-owned and operated stations (O&Os) and CBS Sports Network, further strengthening an already comprehensive lineup. The genre pack currently features more than 25 major sports channels such as ESPN, ESPN2, ACC Network, FS1, Golf Channel, SEC Network, TBS, TNT, truTV and USA Network, along with a variety of professional league and collegiate conference networks. In addition, ESPN+ is already included, and the new ESPN streaming service will be available upon its launch.
• MyEntertainment, $34.99/month: MyEntertainment now offers a range of new Paramount Global channels: BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, MTV2, Paramount Network, Pop, TV Land, and VH1. These additions complement an already diverse catalog of more than 40 entertainment networks, including A&E, Bravo, Discovery, E!, Food Network, FX, Freeform, FYI, HGTV, Lifetime, Oxygen, Syfy, The HISTORY Channel, TLC, Vice TV and others. The package also includes Disney+, Hulu Bundle Basic and Max Basic With Ads.
• MyNews, $39.99/month: CBS O&Os will join the MyNews pack, enhancing local and national coverage. This addition complements a strong lineup of more than 10 national news channels already included—such as CNN, CNBC, Fox News Channel and MSNBC—plus select local news stations where available.
• MiEspañol, $34.99/month: Tr3s joins MiEspañol, further enriching an already impressive Spanish-language lineup. Subscribers currently enjoy more than 60 channels including CNN En Español, Discovery En Español, Discovery Familia, ESPN Deportes, Fox Deportes, Hogar de HGTV, Nat Geo Mundo, Telemundo, Univision and others, with plans to incorporate Vix Premium with Ads at no additional cost in the near future.
• MyCinema Mini Pack: The Smithsonian Channel will be added to the MyCinema Mini Pack Add-On, which currently features classic films, romance, and family programming from seven channels, including Great American Family, Sony Movies and TCM. MyCinema is available to MyKids, MyEntertainment, MyNews and MySports customers for $9.99/month.

For additional detail on the channel lineup included in the genre packages, visit https://www.directv.com/genre-packs/.

LONDON—TNT may be the U.S. network that knows drama, but China has laid its case to be the drama leader of the world with its slate of TV productions. According to new research from Ampere Analysis, the country’s leading broadcasters and OTT services have commissioned nearly 300 new drama series in the last six months.

The Ampere study shows that China is responsible for more than half of the world’s new drama productions, with the genre representing 67% of all upcoming titles. In the U.S., dramas make up just 16% of upcoming titles. This interest in genre is making it the number one commissioned genre worldwide.

However, while drama is the dominant genre, it isn’t alone. Leading up to September 2019, China had 432 upcoming scripted TV commissions; the U.S. had 359 over that same period, while the rest of world in total had 645.

Besides drama, 14% of Chinese commissioned shows fall under romance—similar to other APAC countries. But where international markets often enjoy crime and thriller shows, it only makes up 10% of China’s commissions. There were very few comedy and sci-fi shows greenlit in China over this period.

While most of the shows have been commissioned by Chinese producers, international companies like BBC and Endemol Shine have also entered the market.

Another factor that differentiates China from other markets is that only about 8% of its new shows were commissioned by SVoD services. The U.S., in comparison, had nearly half of its shows commissioned by OTT players. However, because of fragmentation of the market, Chinese SVoD services are still among the most active individual commissioners, but most content is still commissioned by a large number of small, local broadcasters.

In terms of subscribers, Chinese SVoD services are keeping pace with international competitors. Ampere expects iQIYI to reach 116 million subscribers by the end of 2019, while Tencent should hit 108 million subscribers. That would be behind Netflix’s 164 million expected subscribers, but ahead of Amazon’s 91 million. This subscriber growth is expected to increase SVoD’s commissioning activity over the next year, which could also impact the genre preferences of the country.

“The Chinese SVoD services, which have some of the largest subscriber bases in the world and now represent nearly one in 10 new series green-lit in China, echo the global and U.S. TV giants in terms of the genres they are commissioning,” said Richard Cooper, Ampere research director.