Paramount+ adds 6.8m subscribers, plans India expansion in 2023

High-profile originals such as Halo helped boost Paramount+’s subs

Paramount Global’s SVoD service Paramount+ added 6.8 million subscribers in the first quarter, taking its global tally to just shy of 40 million as it prepares to accelerate its international expansion efforts.

The New York-headquartered media company said on Tuesday that it will launch Paramount+ in India in 2023 in partnership with Viacom 18 through its recently announced agreement.

It also set June 22 for the arrival of Paramount+ in the UK and Ireland, where it will launch with more than 8,000 hours of content. In the UK, the service will be priced at £6.99 (US$8.76) per month or £69.90 per year.

The service will also debut in South Korea in June, followed by Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria in the second half of 2022.

Overall, Paramount Global now has 62.4 million global streaming subscribers across its entire portfolio (which also includes streaming products such as Showtime and BET+), up from 56 million in the previous quarter.

The addition of nearly seven million Paramount+ subscribers came during a quarter that saw the release of several high-profile originals including Halo and second seasons of 1883 and Star Trek: Picard.

In total, its direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription revenue (excluding ad revenues) increased by 95% to US$742m in Q1, from US$380m a year ago. When including ad revenue, D2C revenue in Q1 climbed to US$1.09bn, from US$598bn last year.

Across the entire company, revenue dipped by 1% to US$7.41bn in Q1.

The company also saw growth in its AVoD business, with Pluto TV reaching nearly 68 million monthly active users in Q1 compared with 64 million in the quarter before.

On an analyst call following the release of its earnings report, Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish said that a new Jackass series is in the works at Paramount+. News of the series follows the successful theatrical launch of Jackass Forever.