Paramount+ Adds 700K in Q2 2023 to Rise to 61 Million Subscribers; Combined Streaming Hours with Pluto Up 35%
Paramount Global is continuing its trek up the streaming mountain. The company released its second-quarter earnings report on Monday, revealing that it had gained 700,000 streaming subscribers between the start of April and the end of June.
That brings it to a total of 61 million streaming customers on Paramount+, up from the 60 million it reported having at the end of Q1. No doubt some of these additions were fueled by the merger of Paramount+’s Premium tier with SHOWTIME, which took place on June 27.
Paramount’s free ad-supported TV (FAST) and ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) service Pluto TV also grew during the quarter, combining with Paramount+ to increase the total number of viewing hours by 35% over the corresponding quarter in 2022. The media conglomerate saw streaming revenue grow 21% year-over-year to rise to $1.2 billion.
Paramount+’s numbers put it squarely in the middle of the road when compared to its streaming competitors. It doesn’t come anywhere close to Netflix or Disney, both of which claim more than 200 million streaming users round the world. WBD has 95.8M streaming customers between Max and discovery+, but Paramount+ remains well ahead of Peacock and its 24 million users.
The launch of Paramount+ with Showtime was the biggest story of the quarter for Paramount. It was accompanied by a price increase for both Paramount+ plans; the ad-supported Essential tier went from $4.99 to $5.99 per month, and the ad-free tier brought on the SHOWTIME streaming library, rising from $9.99 per month to $11.99.
The move to integrate SHOWTIME with Paramount+ is part of the company’s larger adherence to accepted industry dogma regarding how to turn a streaming service profitable. Consolidation and price increases are key parts of the formula, as are content cuts of titles that don’t perform well. Paramount+ got in on that game during the second quarter, pulling animated and live-action shows from its library, including content from Vice to attempt to shop them to other streamers, or to simply not have them underfoot any longer.
The culls have not stopped viewers from tuning into Paramount+, either domestically or internationally. A large slate of internationally-produced titles is proving to be quite popular for the service, and closer to home, Paramount+ crossed the threshold of 1% of all TV viewing time in the month of June according to Nielsen.
One of the big reasons Paramount+ is continuing to draw customers’ eyes is the work of Taylor Sheridan, who co-created the Western drama series “Yellowstone.” That show is now officially canceled on Paramount Network, which will air a new spin-off series featuring a different branch of the Dutton family that has yet to be written. The new series is rumored to star Matthew McConaughey, and will also stream on Paramount+. Sheridan’s latest series “Special Ops: Lioness” has been a ratings bonanza for the streamer, breaking records in its first week of availability. Season 5, part 2 of “Yellowstone” will air on Paramount Network eventually, but the company has some labor issues to iron out before production of the show can begin again.
Paramount is one of the media outlets that finds itself at odds with the biggest actors’ and writers’ unions in Hollywood this summer. The concurrent Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes led to some thought from company higher-ups of putting streaming-exclusive series from Paramount+ onto CBS this fall, in order to fill in programming holes. Those thoughts were put into action, and “Yellowstone” will join other Paramount series by airing on the Eye Network for the first time this fall.
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.