Paramount+ Adds 4.1 Million Subscribers, Climbs to 60 Million Globally; Pluto TV Hits 80 Million Active Users
Paramount+ Adds 4.1 Million Subscribers, Climbs to 60 Million Globally; Pluto TV Hits 80 Million Active Users
The hits just keep on coming for Paramount+! Paramount Global held its conference call to discuss its quarterly earnings report with investors and Wall Street analysts on Thursday, May 4. It was a good quarter for Paramount+; the service grew by 4.1 million users to a total of 60 million. That’s a 7.33% increase over the previous quarter, when the service had just shy of 56 million users, and an increase of 51.51% year-over-year.
Pluto TV, the company’s free ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) and free ad-supported TV (FAST) platform, has risen to 80 million active users. That’s a healthy jump from the 79 million Paramount reported having on the service in the final quarter of 2022. It also puts Pluto ahead of The Roku Channel, who reported having 71.6 million active users in the first three months of 2023.
Paramount+ is growing fast, but it still finds itself firmly in the mid-tier of streaming platforms in terms of size. Netflix, for example, is the world’s largest streaming service at 232.5 million users. Disney claims 234 million subscribers between its various streaming platforms across the globe, though this number does not account for the overlap generated by the Disney Bundle.
“Paramount continues to demonstrate the strength of its content engine, driving momentum across streaming, television and theatrical,” Paramount CEO Bob Bakish said. “This resulted in Paramount+ and Pluto TV reaching significant milestones with 60 million subscribers and 80 million MAUs, respectively, while CBS is poised to claim the #1 spot in broadcast for the 15th straight season.”
One of the biggest stories surrounding Paramount this quarter was its exploration of different ways to pare down its streaming segment to focus more intently on Paramount+. Paramount got an unsolicited offer to sell its premium cable/streaming bundle SHOWTIME for $3 billion earlier this year, which it turned down, preferring its plan to merge SHOWTIME with Paramount+ sometime during the third quarter of 2023. Paramount has looked into other sale options, however, including offloading BET+ as well as its kid-focused streamer Noggin.
There will be more live sports in the future of Paramount’s streaming platforms, that’s for sure. In April, the company rolled out a new free streaming channel dedicated to global soccer called the Golazo Network. This channel features live soccer matches, studio content and much more, and is available to stream for free through Pluto TV or Paramount+.
This was the first quarter that Paramount saw the benefit of a new, mobile-only streaming plan. Such plans were rolled out in April for subscribers in Mexico and Brazil, which allow users in those countries to access a cheaper Paramount+ that they can only use on their mobile devices. Such plans are not available in the U.S. at present, but American customers can now find Paramount+ on +play, Verizon’s streaming service aggregation platform.
Fans have some new content to be excited about on Paramount+ as well, namely a new Taylor Sheridan-created show that will be set in the “Yellowstone” universe featuring Matthew McConaughey. That series has been greenlit by Paramount, and will go on whether or not “Yellowstone” wraps up after its current season thanks to issues between executives and the show’s star Kevin Costner.
The future of “South Park” on Paramount+ is less immediately clear. Warner Bros. Discovery is currently suing Paramount Global for creating and distributing “South Park” content that the former company says violates the terms of a licensing deal between the two sides. Paramount is now countersuing WBD, claiming that it is abiding by the contract but that Warner owes it millions of dollars in unpaid licensing fees.
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. Get free access with a Walmart+ subscription.
Paramount+ includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” “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.