Paramount+ added 6.8 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2022

Paramount Global added 6.3 million total subscribers in the first quarter of the year, which means that now the company has more than 62 million global streaming subscribers. These additions were driven by Paramount+, which added 6.8 million subscribers in the period, bringing its total subscriber count to almost 40 million. Other DTC services subscribers declined, “primarily due to timing of new programming,”  the company said.

However, financially speaking, the entertainment giant reported revenue dipped 1% to $7.33 million during the quarter, compared with $7.41 million last year. The company believes that this drop is due to the fact that the last quarter included the broadcasting of the Super Bowl LV, one of the largest television events in the world, which usually attracts massive viewers and ad sales.

Furthermore, Paramount also reported revenue declines across all three of its major business lines – broadcast advertising, filmed entertainment and distribution. This pushed profit lower to $433 million compared to $911 million last year. On an adjusted basis, the company delivered earnings per share of 60 cents, narrowly beating Wall Street projections of 51 cents.

“The first quarter once again demonstrated the power and potential of Paramount’s unique assets and the company’s continued momentum. Our differentiated playbook – including a broad content line up, a streaming business model that spans ad-supported and subscription, and a global portfolio that links streaming with theatrical and television – drove strength across our entire ecosystem, including DTC revenue growth of 82% and 6.8 million Paramount+ subscriber additions. Our strategy is working and our execution is strong, as we remain focused on delivering a great experience for consumers and a compelling financial model to our shareholders,”  said Bob Bakish, President & CEO of Paramount Global.

●  DEMAND FOR PARAMOUNT CONTENT

As Paramount Global reported its first earnings under its new name, Parrot Analytics tracked surging demand for both original and exclusive-licensed content on Paramount+, which, combined with several breakout Showtime originals, could create a potent and highly in-demand bundle in the race for streaming supremacy.

In recent quarters Parrot Analytics has highlighted the massive gap between Paramount Global’s healthy corporate demand share and Paramount+’s lackluster rankings in streaming original and on-platform demand share, along with the corresponding need for Paramount Global to pull back its most in-demand content from competitors if it wants to truly compete in the space.

The data from Q1 2022 suggests Paramount is well on its way to fixing these issues and becoming a serious streaming player, at a critical time in the industry as Netflix begins to shed subscribers and lose market value. In fact, Paramount Global is now in third place in corporate demand share with US consumers. Despite its parent company’s wealth of in-demand content, Paramount+ still finds itself in seventh place in US demand share for streaming originals.

While this ranking is less than ideal, Paramount+’s share in this category is growing, sitting at 5.0% in Q1 2022 - up 31.6% versus Q1 2021 (3.8%). “This is a good sign because demand for original content is a key leading indicator of subscriber growth for SVOD platforms,”  Parrot noted.

When it comes to demand for on-platform content, Paramount+ has steadily been on the rise. As of the first quarter of 2022, it accounts for 8.3% of on-platform demand in the United States - jumping up into fourth place, its highest ever ranking, ahead of Amazon Prime Video (7.6%) and Peacock (7.4%).

More important than just moving up the rankings, the data suggests Paramount+ is getting better at drawing in demand for its own originals and exclusive content. In Q2 2021, 46% of the demand for content on Paramount+ was for non-exclusive licensed content - that is, series that could also be found elsewhere and thus are not likely to retain subscribers. As of the first quarter of 2022, that figure was down to 37%.