ViacomCBS – soon to be renamed Paramount – said it added 9.4 million global streaming subscribers in the fourth quarter.
CEO Bob Bakish said the quarter was the company’s best ever for adding subscribers and that 80% of the new subs joined Paramount Plus. The company said it now has more than 56 million subscribers.
Bakish said the company’s steaming business was ahead of schedule. He said the company didn’t expect subscribers to be at this level until next January and forecast that the company would reach its 2024 goals by the end of 2022.
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The company raised its guidance for Wall Street, saying it expects to have 100 million subscribers by 2024, up from previous guidance of 65 to 75 million. The forecast excludes the company's European joint venture with Comcast's Sky.
Bakish also said that the company’s free ad-supported streaming service Pluto TV added 10 million new monthly active users and now has a monthly audience of nearly 65 million active users.
He said Pluto had $1 billion in revenues for the year, which was five times the revenue it generated two years ago.
Global streaming revenue grew 48% from last year to $1.3 billion. Subscription revenue was up 84%.
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Recent earnings reports have shown rises in streaming subscribers at major media companies including Disney and Comcast NBCUniversal. AMC said today it ended 2021 with 9 million subscribers across several streaming services.
The company also plans to change its Paramount Plus app making it easier for subscribers to also sign up for Showtime OTT. Starting this summer, U.S. subscriber to Paramount Plus will be able to upgrade their subscription to a bundle including Showtime.
The Paramount Plus Essential tier plus Showtime will cost $11.99 a month. The Paramount Plus Premium Tier with Showtime will cost $14.99 a month.
Subscribers to both services will be able to watch both Paramount Plus programming and Showtime content through the Paramount Plus app.
"When you're done watching Mayor of Kingstown, you'll be able to move immediately to the next season of Billions without ever leaving the Paramount Plus app," said Tom Ryan, president and CEO streaming at ViacomCBS. ■
