Dominic DiMeglio

Stephanie Prange

August 12, 2025

Paramount+ is becoming one of the most aggressive subscription VOD platforms pursuing live-sports content. Backed by digital access to CBS Sports content, the service with 77.7 million paid subscribers through June 30 offers viewers live access to select NFL games, Big 10 college football, basketball’s March Madness tournament, PGA Tour golf, and UEFA Europa League soccer.

Streaming live sports has been part of Paramount’s history since the early days of digital pioneer CBS All Access. As one of the first streamers to bring live sports to the non-premium TV consumer, Paramount+ has established itself as a go-to destination for championship level sports, including the two of the most-watched sports leagues globally, the NFL and the UEFA Champions League. 

Media Play News talked to Domenic DiMeglio, CMO and CDO, Paramount Streaming, ahead of the closing of the Paramount/Skydance merger. The executive outlined why live sports is important to Paramount+, and how the streamer plans to differentiate itself from a growing field of streaming platforms entering the game, including Netflix, Peacock, ESPN Unlimited, HBO Max, Prime Video, YouTube and The Roku Channel.

MPN: How important is live sports to Paramount+ growth?

DiMeglio: Live events create a powerful sense of urgency that motivates viewers in the moment to subscribe to catch the game that’s on.  We’ve seen that live sports fans transcend audience segments and thanks to our broader entertainment lineup ­— including iconic franchises, blockbuster films and award-winning original series — we’re seeing strong engagement and retention from those who initially join to watch a game. Our goal is to seamlessly connect live sports with the broader Paramount+ experience, helping fans transition effortlessly from watching those must watch games to one of our many hit movies or series, and keeping them engaged well beyond the final whistle.

MPN: How does streaming attempt to replicate or exceed the linear TV sports experience without incurring technical issues such as buffering or frozen screens that have impacted Netflix and Prime Video?

DiMeglio: With well over a decade of live streaming experience, we’ve built and continually refined a first-class live sports experience for Paramount+ subscribers. Our roots go back to the early days of CBS All Access, giving us a significant runway to test, learn, and evolve both our capabilities and the user experience.

Streaming live events — especially marquee moments like the Super Bowl where we have millions of people coming to the service at the same time — is a massive undertaking, but one we’re well equipped to handle thanks to years of expertise and continuous rigor. We’re proud to have one of the best Tech & Product teams in the industry, working tirelessly to evolve, test and scale the platform ahead of high-demand events — ensuring our streams deliver high-quality, up-to-the-second video every time.

We’ve also continued to innovate with features that enhance the viewer journey. In the past year, we’ve introduced tools like Key Moments Highlights and Live End-Cards, which recommend relevant content once a game ends, based on viewing habits and engagement signals.

MPN: It seems that the appearance of Tom Cruise on David Beckham’s “Beckham & Friends Live” altcast of the UEFA Champions League soccer final on May 31 helped spike streaming views. Is this a trend involving alternative approaches to live-stream sports? Could the event presentation become more important than the final score?

DiMeglio: “Beckham & Friends Live” marked our first Paramount+ exclusive altcast for a major sporting event, offering fans a fresh take on the UEFA Champions League through the lens of a soccer legend [David Beckham]. With host Kate Scott and fantastic guests like Stanley Tucci and Guy Ritchie, the show delivered an intimate, watch-along atmosphere that was both entertaining for long-time fans and accessible for newcomers to the sport.

Tom’s guest appearance during the final in Munich was a standout moment … live and on social.  The timing also created an incredible opportunity to create synergy across Paramount, collaborating with our theatrical team and other partners within the company, to drive interest throughout our ecosystem and create moments that resonate far beyond the game itself.

Following its success, we’re absolutely exploring additional opportunities for altcasts and creative shoulder programming around major live events. These formats allow us to engage both passionate sports fans and broader audiences in new, dynamic ways.

MPN: Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT Sports developed a hit with its “Inside the NBA” show that almost became more popular than the actual game. Could Paramount+ follow this script for its coverage of football, golf and college basketball?

DiMeglio: For sure, our world-class soccer coverage on Paramount+, anchored by the renowned “UCL Today” studio show, exemplifies this strategy. The show has become a social juggernaut among Champions League fans worldwide, and we’ve seized the opportunity to build that momentum with David.

The strong engagement and social buzz we generated for the show validated what we believed from the start: there’s a real appetite for this kind of alternative broadcast experience. Soccer fans are deeply passionate about the game. Bringing them behind-the-scenes stories and unique insights from David along with a fantastic group of guests gave the show an edge that the fans loved. 

Together with CBS Sports we have built on the momentum and popularity of Champions League to debut an alt cast that captured the attention of the soccer audience. We’ve seen and now proven that this model can work remarkably well — but its success depends on the right mix of timing, talent and audience. When those pieces align, the opportunity to engage fans in new and meaningful ways is huge, and we are actively exploring how we can replicate this format.

MPN: While a streamer has access to live sports being televised on CBS Sports, are there singular events or leagues (such as World Rugby) that could only be found on Paramount+?

DiMeglio: Our partnership with CBS has been instrumental in unlocking premier sports rights across both linear and streaming. In many cases — such as the NFL on CBS — Paramount+ serves as the streaming complement to the broadcast experience. However, a cornerstone of our Paramount+ sports strategy is ensuring that our streaming-first league partnerships allow us to stream every single game so that we can truly serve as the ultimate one-stop destination for fans of those leagues. And, with the ability to stream multiple games simultaneously, Paramount+ often provides even broader access to live coverage. With World Rugby, every match will stream live on Paramount+, while select games will also air on CBS and CBS Sports Network  — giving fans more ways to watch than ever before. This is similar to our approach to soccer where Paramount+ offers the full lineup for properties such as UEFA Champions League making us a must-have service for soccer fans. 

MPN: Are non-mainstream sports such as cycling, tennis, skiing, and F1 key to driving Paramount+ growth internationally, similar to their role in HBO Max’s global aspirations?

DiMeglio: While our live sports offering is more extensive in the U.S., our international strategy follows the same core approach. We leverage the urgency and broad appeal of live sports to drive subscriber acquisition and then extend the viewer journey by surfacing the right content at the right time, turning new fans into long-term subscribers.

For instance, in Australia, we signed a deal last year to become the exclusive home, with Network 10 — our FTA channel — for all Australian Women’s Senior National Team matches for the next four years, including the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027 and the LA 2028 Summer Olympics, as well as the Men’s Senior National Team matches, including all AFC Asian Qualifiers (FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian Qualifiers Final Round), except for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

In Brazil, we recently celebrated incredible results with the Conmebol Libertadores and the Conmebol Sudamericana.

MPN: How does Pluto TV fit into Paramount Streaming’s sports programming strategy/offerings?

DiMeglio: We’re committed to making sports more accessible to fans through our free streaming service Pluto TV by offering a diverse mix of live and on-demand sports content, documentaries, and films. With dedicated channels for everything from the PGA Tour to Professional Bull Riders (PBR), we’re serving passionate sports communities across a wide range of interests.

Just last month, we expanded our lineup with the launch of a 24/7 channel from Whoopi Goldberg’s All Women’s Sports Network. This exciting addition will deliver over 2,500 hours of live women’s sports annually to audiences around the world — and it’s just the beginning. We’re actively building out more women’s sports programming to reflect the growing demand.

Internationally, sports content is also a significant growth driver for Pluto TV. We have formed partnerships with DAZN and Borussia Dortmund (BVB) in Germany, as well as live fight sports in the Nordics. Additionally, we are targeting niche markets with highly engaged fan bases, such as our 24/7 Darts channel, to connect with viewers who crave depth and specialization in their favorite sports.

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