Paramount+ Sees Big Success Internationally as it Sheds Content in the United States
There are likely more content cuts ahead for Paramount+ in the United States. Paramount Global began removing shows from the platform in the last week of June, but the total volume of removals still lags behind other legacy media companies like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, who kept their content cuts coming for weeks.
Paramount may have more titles to remove from Paramount+ domestically, but internationally the picture is far rosier. According to an exclusive Variety report, the company’s announcement in 2022 that it would launch 150 original shows and movies created outside the U.S. is paying off handsomely.
While Paramount is still trying to figure out how to hit peak losses and start climbing to profitability with its streaming services, its most encouraging signs of streaming growth are coming from outside the U.S. Paramount+ launched in several European markets last fall, including Austria, France, Germany, and Switzerland. In total, the service is available in more than 45 markets worldwide. The company has 85 locally-sourced projects in some form of development, and Paramount+ international executive VP Marco Nobili says everything is going according to plan.
“We’ve always been very cost conscious in the way that we’ve developed those projects and how many we develop, where we develop them and which phase we do them, and so we continue at the same pace that we had before,” Nobili told Variety. “We have produced the right amount of shows at the right cadence, and we have given them the marketing support to make them successful. We don’t see any show that is below the parameter of what’s really needed to be written off at this stage.”
That certainly hasn’t been the case domestically. In the past few weeks, shows like “Star Trek: Prodigy,” “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies,” and many more have been removed from Paramount+ in the U.S., as the company tries to cut down on its streaming costs. But its internationally-commissioned shows draw 70% of their viewers from outside their country of origin, showing they have broad global appeal.
Nobili also says the company’s international commissions allow it more wiggle room amidst a current writers’ strike in the U.S. As new series commissions have plummeted domestically, Paramount’s slate of upcoming shows that will be produced elsewhere will give it key programming flexibility.
“I would say international content is certainly something that allows you even more growth capabilities along the way, and we do have big expectations for some of these titles — not only in the international market, but also in the U.S. market,” said Nobili. “There is a very generous amount of content coming through the international pipeline that is certainly going to play a big role for us.”
The success of Paramount+ outside the U.S. is a contrast to other streaming services, such as Disney+. That streamer recently decided to pause all production of new content in Canada, focusing its own efforts on reducing its monetary losses in other countries. Disney+ has lost subscribers for two straight quarters, driven mostly by its decision to drop Indian Premier League Cricket in India.
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.