Paramount+ grows to 43 million subscribers as other streaming services fall short

Paramount Global reported this morning that its streaming service Paramount+ had a net add of 3.7 million subscribers to bring its global total to 43.3 million, up from 39.6 million last quarter. The total would have been 4.9 million subs if it had not been for the removal of 1.2 million Russian subscribers due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

CEO Bob Bakish has said the company aims to reach 100 million Paramount+ subscribers by 2024. In the earnings call today, the company said it is “bullish about growth going forward.”

Across Paramount Global’s streaming services — Paramount +, Pluto TV, Showtime, Noggin and BET+ — the company nearly reached 64 million (63.7 million to be exact), up from more than 62.4 million as of the end of Q1 2022. This reflects a growth of 1.7 million. However, it would have been a growth of 5.2 million global streaming subscribers before the removal of 3.9 million subscribers in Russia.

Revenue grew 120% for Paramount+, as overall subscription revenue rose 74% year-over-year to $830 million.

The company said Pluto TV remains “the No. 1 free ad-supported streaming TV service in the U.S,” as it increased in global monthly active users to almost 70 million.

Paramount Global shares were down 3% in pre-market trading this morning.

Paramount+ is running up that streaming hill, unlike Netflix, which lost nearly one million subs in the second quarter — fewer than expected — and Peacock laid flat at 13 million. Netflix remains the largest streaming service, with 220.67 million subscribers. HBO Max last reported having 76.8 million subscribers but will report its Q2 results later today.

Last quarter, Disney+ had 137.9 million subscribers. The Walt Disney Company will report its second-quarter earnings next week, on August 10.

“Paramount+ captured the most sign-ups, gross and net subscriber additions of any premium domestic streaming service in the quarter according to Antenna’s June 2022 Report,” the company stated in its earnings report. “Paramount+ subscriber growth was partially driven by successful international market launches, including the U.K., Ireland, and South Korea.”

In June, Paramount+ launched in South Korea, the U.K. and Ireland, including an international slate of seven new titles. The company hopes for 150 international originals by 2025. The company also has plans to expand into Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland in the second half of this year.

Bakish pointed out in the earnings call that by the end of 2022, “We expect to have our subscription video-on-demand services in 60 total markets moving forward.”

The president and CEO also wrote to shareholders, “Our deep and growing library of valuable IP, coupled with the strength of our best-in-class assets, ensures we are well-positioned to continue to maximize value for our shareholders.”

The company also said the flagship streaming service, Paramount+, saw robust acquisition and engagement, which was thanks to “Halo,” “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” “Jackass Forever,” “1883,” “The Lost City” and the UEFA Champions League.

Paramount+ touted content coming to the platform as well, including “Tulsa King,” starring Sylvester Stallone, which will premiere on November 13, as well as “Criminal Minds,” the NFL season and SEC college football.

The company hasn’t officially announced when “Top Gun: Maverick” will appear on the service, but the studio has continued to be committed to its 45-day release window to release titles from movie theaters to streaming.