‘Yellowstone,’ Wide Variety Key to Paramount+ Success According to Paramount Exec.
Paramount recently uploaded an interview in which with Chief Programming Officer of Streaming Tanya Giles discusses the keys to curating content for Paramount+, as well as what shows drove the most viewership and how the streamer is hoping to minimize subscriber churn.
When it comes to what content gets a greenlight and what franchises are rebooted or extended, Giles believes “title diversity really minimizes churn. If you are a household with more than one profile and you watch more than two shows then you’re a high-value subscriber. And that is how our programming strategy is built. We really think about the whole household and make sure we have something for everyone.”
Building a content pipeline that’s both “deep and wide” is pivotal to getting subscribers to stay, the CPO said. Consumers spend 70% of their viewing time on streaming services that offer more variety, based on research from Parks Associates.
She then explained the relationship between Paramount’s linear and streaming content, saying, “One of the great advantages of Paramount+ is that it’s part of Paramount’s fantastic ecosystem. We can promote shows on linear, but we also have tremendous opportunities to partner with the networks or even the shows themselves to launch new content.”
For instance, “Yellowstone” had mind-boggling numbers, debuting on June 20, 2018 to 2.83 million viewers. The Season 4 finale alone hauled in 9.3 million viewers on the Paramount Network while the overall viewing topped 11 million homes. This was an 81% increase from the Season 3 finale. Thanks to the latest finale, “Yellowstone” is the most-watched cable show since a 2017 episode of “The Walking Dead.”
Yellowstone
Follow the violent world of the Dutton family, who controls the largest contiguous ranch in the United States. Led by their patriarch John Dutton, the family defends their property against constant attack by land developers, an Indian reservation, and America’s first National Park.
However, despite the hit series living on Paramount’s cable network, it will not be coming to Paramount+ any time soon as the show’s streaming rights were sold to NBCUniversal before Paramount launched its own stream. The first three seasons of “Yellowstone” are currently available to watch on Peacock, with the fourth season coming later this month.
Despite not owning the streaming rights to one of the biggest hits on television, Paramount does have a strategy. Since Paramount+ doesn’t have the streaming rights to “Yellowstone,” it does own the rights to the rest of the Taylor Sheridan universe. According to Giles, “We waited to launch [Season 4 of] Yellowstone when we knew we would have two shows that were also coming from the Taylor Sheridan universe for Paramount+, including ‘1883’ and ‘Mayor of Kingstown’.”
And this strategy worked. “‘Yellowstone’ came back with huge numbers in the first week and then in the second week, we aired ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ right after ‘Yellowstone’ on linear and premiered it on Paramount+. So, fans of ‘Yellowstone’ were exposed to it on Paramount Network with the promise that you could immediately go to Paramount+ and watch episode two of the new original series,” Giles added.
Content licensing is also a big business for Paramount, so having the hit show “Yellowstone” on a traditional cable network and NBCU’s streaming platform means that more eyeballs will see it. And even though Peacock is the streaming home for “Yellowstone,” its success there can still drive people to explore all of the related series on Paramount+ platform. Thirty percent of the audience who came to Paramount+ to watch “1883” started with episode two. Thus, having the prequel series “1883” and “Mayor of Kingstown” appear on the service was a game-changer. Fans can also anticipate two more spinoffs — “6666” and “1932,” as well as other shows currently being developed by Sheridan.
1883
Follow the Dutton family as they embark on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America. A stark retelling of Western expansion, and an intense study of one family fleeing poverty to seek a better future in America’s promised land — Montana.
All in all, the relationship between Paramount’s linear and streaming content pipeline is golden. The company has tons of familiar franchises that are making a comeback over the next two years. From “The Fairly OddParents” to “Star Trek,” “iCarly,” “Spongebob Squarepants,” “Beavis and Butthead,” as well as “Halo” — the list is seemingly endless.
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and more. The lineup includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.