Paramount+ Unveils 2021 Best-Performing Titles - What Do They Mean For the Future?

As 2021 comes to an end, Paramount+ revealed which of its titles were the most-watched and which genres caught subscribers’ attention this year. Since its rebrand from CBS All Access on March 4, 2021, the ViacomCBS streamer has laid the groundwork for a successful future. This year, the company was recognized as the fastest-growing brand among other big names, like TikTok, Moderna, and HBO Max.

Paramount+’s top-performing titles include:

• Original: Star Trek Discovery
• Deubt: Mayor of Kingstown
• Female-Led Title: A Quiet Place Part II
• Binge: SpongeBob SquarePants
• Drama: Seal Team
• Movie: Infinite
• Rewatch: Paw Patrol: The Movie
• Specials: Adele One Night Only
• Comedy: South Park: Post Covid
• Reality Series: RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars
• Download: iCarly’s “iStart Over”

Kids and Family was the most-watched genre this year. Reality comes in second place and Crime in third. New subscriptions were driven by live sports, including the NFL on CBS, UEFA, and Concacaf.

Like many competitors, Paramount+ is leaning heavily on its roster of IP to drive subscriptions. But the collaboration with one of “Yellowstone’s” creators is likely to pay dividends, as evidenced by the success of Taylor Sheridan’s “Mayor of Kingstown.” He’s also behind an upcoming “Yellowstone” prequel series (“1883”) and a new mob drama starring Sylvester Stallone (“Kansas City”). ViacomCBS knows how to segment its audience and deliver crowd-pleasing TV.

Throughout the year, Paramount+ debuted many original and exclusive titles, including “Evil,” “Star Trek: Prodigy,” “The Real World Homecoming: Los Angeles,” “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” and “Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin.” You can watch all of the mentioned shows and movies with a subscription to Paramount+.

Streaming services were met with an unexpected challenge amid the pandemic. Like its competitors, Paramount+ has been fine-tuning its theatrical and streaming release strategy. Other companies have struggled to find the right balance. However, it looks like Paramount+ is doing something right. The company releases major films exclusively in theaters, while family movies, including “Clifford the Big Red Dog” are day-and-date releases.

As demonstrated with “Clifford,” this strategy already seems to be working well for the streamer. The family film was both the most-watched original movie on the service and earned $22.2 million at the box office in its first five days. “Paw Patrol: The Movie,” another family film and the company’s first day-and-date release, saw similar results.

Moving forward, Paramount+ will be keeping content produced by Paramount, CBS, and Viacom on its own streaming service. Starting out, some of these titles were sent elsewhere. One example is “Yellowstone.” Previous seasons of the show can be found on Peacock. ViacomCBS’ plans for the future include keeping its franchises on its streaming services rather than sending them to competitors.