Paramount+ continued to climb up the gushing mountain in the second quarter as some competitors faltered.
Announcing second-quarter earnings, Paramount Global said its flagship Paramount+ service now has more than 43 million paid customers, net of an addition of 4.9 million for the June quarter.
However, the company’s other streaming services declined overall. Global broadcast subscribers totaled nearly 64 million in the second quarter, an increase of less than 2 million. Paramount does not break down the number of subscribers to Showtime or its other direct-to-consumer services, which include BET+ and Noggin.
The total streamed figure included the removal of 3.9 million subscribers in Russia; The sub-digit Q2 Paramount+ included a drop of 1.2 million accounts in Russia, after Paramount Global exited the country due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Paramount+’s picking comes as the growth of other streaming devices has been flat or low. Netflix shed nearly 1 million subscribers in the second quarter (although that was less than expected), while NBCUniversal’s Peacock’s paid customers were flat in the period at 13 million and Peacock’s total active accounts fell by 1 million. Warner Bros. announced. Discovery, which owns HBO Max and Discovery+, reported second-quarter earnings Thursday after the market closed, and Disney is scheduled to report results on August 10.
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In Q2, Pluto TV – Paramount’s free and ad-supported streaming service – continued its healthy track. Pluto TV had XX million monthly active users in the quarter, up from 67.5 million in the first quarter.
Amidst the highly competitive livestream wars, Paramount took an aggressive stance. In February, the company (formerly known as ViacomCBS) raised its 2024 global broadcast subscriber target from 65 million to 75 million subscribers to more than 100 million. At the same time, it plans to increase spending on streaming content to more than $6 billion by 2024, from $4 billion previously — raising investor concerns about rising costs that will affect profitability.
Paramount+ is packed with entertainment, live sports, and news from the company’s networks including CBS, BET, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and MTV. The collection includes original series such as Taylor Sheridan’s “1883”, “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” and “Halo”, and unscripted shows such as “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars”; and films such as “Sonic the Hedgehog 2”, “PAW Patrol: The Movie”, “A Quiet Place Part II” and “The Lost City”. The service is available in two versions: the ad-supported Basic plan ($4.99/month) and the ad-free Premium plan ($9.99/month).
Pictured above: Paramount Pictures “Sonic the Hedgehog 2”
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