Paramount+ Adds 2.7M Customers in Q3 2023 to Hit 63M; Pluto, Paramount+ Grow 46% in Global Viewing Hours

For most people, the end of the year means the holidays, as well as bitter winter weather, are on their way. But for large corporations, the onset of November means it’s time to unveil their quarterly earnings, and Paramount Global shared its third-quarter earnings report with the public on Thursday, Nov. 2.

Embedded in the report were the new subscriber numbers for Paramount’s streaming platforms Paramount+ and Pluto TV. From the start of July through the end of September, Paramount+ added 2.7 million users, bringing its total to 63 million. At the end of the second quarter, the streamer tallied 61M paying customers.

Between Paramouhnt+ and Pluto TV the company increased its global viewing hours by 46% during the third quarter of the year. Another major bonus for the company is that it says it is now on the other side of the peak financial losses associated with its move into streaming. In Q3, the revenue generated by Paramount+ grew 61% and hit an average revenue per user increase of 16% year-over-year.

How Does Paramount+ Compare to Competing Streaming Services?

The numbers revealed in the Paramount earnings report show that Paramount+ is still in the middle of the pack subscriber-wise. It doesn’t come close to matching the 247.15M customers that Netflix currently has, nor is it near the 146.1M Disney+ claimed at last tally. Still, the new numbers keep it well ahead of Peacock, which now stands at 28M users.

Neither Amazon nor Apple report subscriber totals for Prime Video or Apple TV+ publicly.

What Are the Biggest News Stories From Paramount+ This Quarter?

The biggest overall story from the Paramount world this quarter was the abandonment of the company's plans to sell BET and its sibling streamer BET+. Paramount Global spoke with multiple potential partners about purchasing a minority stake in BET Media Group, but it pulled out of those talks in late August when it became apparent it was not going to get the value it wanted.

Paramount+ introduced a new feature for users during the quarter, which should help them in knowing when a new episode of their favorite TV show is available. The Notify bell first rolled out to show pages on Paramount+ in late August; once clicked, it will create a notification which will pop up each time the show in question releases a new episode.

New features and increasing content are two factors that will lead to a price increase for Paramount+ in the near future. Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish confirmed that a price increase was coming to the service in 2024 or 2025, saying he believed the company has “a lot of room to run there.”

If Paramount waits until 2025 to raise prices, however, the decision on whether or not to raise streaming prices could be out of Bakish’s hands. Paramount Global is reportedly for sale at the right price, and if a buyer is found Bakish’s tenure as CEO could end. However, a sale in current market conditions would be incredibly tricky to pull off.

Until sale talks heat up in earnest, the company will have to content itself with expanding into new territories. Customers in other North American countries like Canada and Mexico, as well as further-flung locales like Australia and Brazil will get access to Paramount+ starting in 2024.

The company is taking steps to shut down its third streaming platform SHOWTIME, as well. Most of the content from that streamer has been imported onto the Paramount+ with Showtime tier as it is, but this week Paramount removed all options for new customers who want to sign up just for SHOWTIME without Paramount+.

What Are the Biggest News Stories from Pluto TV This Quarter?

It was a slower quarter news-wise for Pluto TV, but the streamer still generated a couple of noteworthy stories. First was the announcement in August that the sports streaming platform DAZN had sent a number of free streaming channels to Pluto in Europe, Latin America and other territories, though not in the United States.

A new survey released by Ampere Analysis held good news for Pluto; namely that it had more content distributed via live free streaming channels than any of its competitors. That gives users an easier, more lean-back type of experience as opposed to on-demand content which forces the viewer to pick what they’ll watch next.