Paramount Global said its main streaming platform, Paramount+, added 6.8 million subscribers during the first quarter, as the service benefited from original content including “Halo” and a “Star Trek” series, as well as National Football League games.
The Wall Street Journal reports the company, home of CBS, Nickelodeon and the Paramount movie studio, said Paramount+ had nearly 40 million subscribers as of March 31, an increase of more than 20% from the 32.8 million total customers it had as of Dec. 31. Last quarter, the company renamed itself from ViacomCBS to Paramount, a sign of its focus on streaming and a nod to its history as a filmmaker.
The growth of Paramount+’s subscriber base comes shortly after industry leader Netflix Inc. reported losing customers for the first time in more than a decade, a decline that highlighted the challenges facing newer streaming companies that have to compete with a much larger field of rivals.
Last week, Comcast Corp. said Peacock, a fellow fledgling streaming service, saw its paying-subscriber count increase more than 40% to 13 million in the first quarter, thanks in large part to top sporting events like the Super Bowl and original content such as “Bel-Air.”
Both Paramount+ and Peacock have ad-supported options that are more affordable—Paramount+’s version with limited ads costs $4.99, while the premium, ad-free option is $9.99. Last month, Netflix said it was exploring a lower priced ad-supported version of the platform in hopes of boosting its subscriber base.
Paramount, which owns separate streaming services for its cable networks Showtime and BET, as well as children-content platform Noggin, said it now has more than 62 million total global streaming subscribers.
The company said its net profit fell roughly 52% to $433 million from $911 million last year due to higher operating costs. Revenue slipped 1.1% to $7.33 billion.
On an adjusted basis, the company said adjusted earnings fell nearly 44% to $913 million, as it ramped up investment in its streaming platform.
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