March 27 (Reuters) - Ratings agency S&P lowered

Paramount Global's ( PARAA ) credit rating to 'BB+' from 'BBB-'

on Wednesday as stiff competition in the streaming landscape

pressures the media giant's free operating cash flow (FOCF)

generation.

S&P had placed Paramount on negative watch in February,

pending the company's fourth-quarter results.

Later that month, Paramount's revenue for the quarter fell

short of market expectations, hurt by a soft advertising market,

fallout from last year's Hollywood strikes and a slowdown in

demand for traditional television.

"We downgraded Paramount due to the degradation of credit

metrics from the accelerating declines in linear media and the

shift toward a more competitive and less certain streaming

model," S&P said.

Paramount did not immediately respond to a Reuters request

for comment.

The rating downgrade comes a week after media reports said

private equity firm Apollo Global Management ( APO ) had offered

$11 billion for the company's Paramount Pictures film studio,

adding to takeover interest in the media conglomerate.

"Paramount will need to execute its plan to substantially

improve streaming losses over the next two years to mitigate

further downside ratings pressure," the rating agency said.

Paramount said last week it plans to roll out an

ad-supported streaming service in Canada and Australia, and

launch the higher priced, premium version across Europe.

However, S&P expects "some stabilization at the linear

television segment, mostly due to the airing of the Super Bowl

and the increased political advertising spend in an election

year."