Looks like the streaming adage of “new content drives subscribers” is true. Paramount+ announced that it’s had its “most successful week ever,” adding more than 1 million new subscribers, as well as setting a new record for total sign-ups since the streaming service rebranded from CBS All Access in March 2021.
While owner ViacomCBS doesn’t break out specific subscription numbers, we can put things into a little bit of context. Globally, ViacomCBS added 4.3 million subscribers in the third quarter of 2021 for a total of 47 million. So more than a million new subscribers in a single week is a big deal.
That said, it’s not particularly surprising. The week in question (Paramount+ didn’t specifically say what the dates were) saw the premieres of the new Clifford the Big Red Dog film, the new Taylor Sheridan series Mayor of Kingstown, and the CBS special Adele: One Night Only.
“This week, we ushered in a mix of must-see originals, a blockbuster family film, and top-tier sports that appealed to the whole household,” Tom Ryan, president and chief executive officer og ViacomCBS Streaming, said in a press release. “This is a content strategy we will continue to lean into as we invest in scaling Paramount+. The remarkable levels of engagement we are seeing are a testament to the power of great storytelling on the service and the sheer breadth and depth of our content offering.”
And it’s entirely possible those numbers will continue to rise with the premieres of Season 4 of Star Trek: Discovery on November 18, the South Park: Post COVID special on November 25, and the Yellowstone prequel 1883 on December 19.
Paramount+ is the streaming home to the full ViacomCBS world. It includes the bulk of the CBS catalog domestically, the full Star Trek universe (including Discovery, Prodigy, Picard, and the upcoming Star Trek: Strange New Worlds), the expanding Yellowstone universe, the MTV and Comedy Central libraries, and much more. Paramount + also has a fair amount of live sports, most notably regional NFL games and Champions League soccer. It’s also home to the National Women’s Soccer League.
Paramount+ has two plans available — the $5-a-month “Essential” plan, which includes advertising on the on-demand content and lacks support for 4K playback and offline downloads. It also doesn’t include livestreaming of your local CBS affiliate. Those things get added back (and advertising removed) with the $10-a-month “Premium” plan.
Paramount+ is available on every major streaming platform, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Google TV, smart TVs, gaming consoles, and in a web browser.
