CNBC reports that Paramount Global’s streaming business expanded during the fourth quarter and that the company wants to hike fees for Paramount+ in 2019. Thursday, Paramount’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Naveen Chopra, informed CNBC that the premium tier membership pricing, which would include Showtime, will increase from $9.99 to $11.99. The lower-priced membership tier of the streaming service, which does not contain Showtime programming, will increase by $1 to $5.99. Supposedly, the price increase will take effect when Paramount+ and Showtime join later this year.
Paramount+ Will Drastically Increase Its Prices
Paramount+ attracted 9.9 million new customers during the fourth quarter. Around 56 million customers were reached by Paramount+ over the same period. Moreover, free ad-supported streaming service Pluto, owned by Paramount Global, claimed an increase of 6.5 million monthly active users. Top Gun: Maverick, one of the year’s greatest movies, was added in late December, which contributed to the surge in Paramount+ members. Original content based on the “Yellowstone” and “Criminal Minds” franchises also contributed to the increase in subscribers.
Thursday, Bob Bakish, chief executive officer (CEO) of Paramount Worldwide, indicated that the company’s general assets, cable-TV networks such as Comedy Central and MTV, were among its strengths. “The general entertainment market may not make sense for everyone, but it makes sense for us based on the mix of our assets,” he added. Bakish remarked that Paramount Global was confident in its sports and general entertainment approach when it launched Paramount+.
Despite the rise in subscribers, Paramount’s fourth-quarter earnings decreased by 7 percent to $5.9 billion. The media organization reported that weak advertising negatively harmed its revenue. Executives at Paramount predict that the advertising market will recover in the second part of the year.
