Paramount+ Adds 6.8M Subscribers in Q1 2022 to Reach Almost 40 Million Global Subscribers

Paramount+ added 6.8 million subscribers during the first quarter of the year, bringing their total to 39.6 million by the end Q1 2022. When you combine it with the other services under the Paramount umbrella, including SHOWTIME, BET+, and Noggin – the company’s global streaming subscribers rose to 62.4 million.

Paramount CEO Bob Bakish has stated that the company is aiming to hit 100 million subscribers to Paramount+ by 2024.

In addition to the conglomerate’s subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services, Paramount also reported that their free ad-supported television (FAST) service Pluto TV grew its user base to 68 million active global monthly users in the first quarter, up from 64 million last quarter. Part of the gain was attributed to a distribution deal with T-Mobile via T-Mobile Tuesdays. The company said that total global viewing hours grew by double digits year-over-year.

Paramount has added 26.5 million global streaming subscribers in the last year, including 23.1 million to Paramount+.

Despite the growth this quarter, the company’s Q1 total represents a slowdown in growth over their massive Q4 2021.

During Q4, Paramount’s combined streamers added 9.4 million subscribers to rise to 56 million; Paramount+ accounted for 7.3 million of those new subscribers. Most of the difference was a quarter-over-quarter decline in subscribers of non-Paramount+ streaming services and the seasonality of live NFL games.

As part of the company’s Q4 earnings presentation, Paramount announced that beginning this summer, Showtime programming will be available inside Paramount+. However, unlike the planned unification of HBO Max and discovery+, when the move was announced in February, Paramount indicated that the two streamers would remain separate entities, just that Showtime subscribers would be able to access the premium cabler’s content via the company’s flagship streamer.

How this change will impact subscriber totals is yet to be seen, but if Paramount follows the lead of many of its competitors and offers an even greater discount to paying subscribers of one of the services to bundle the other, it could incentivize customers enough to add one more streamer to their must-have list. Currently, the two services can be bundled for $11.99 a month.

Paramount executives have touted their unique structure as a differentiator between them and other streamers. Since the studio not only owns domestic networks but TV channels around the world as well — along with operating movie studios globally — they believe that their mix of diversified content allows them to appeal to consumers looking for a streamer that has something for every member of the family.