Paramount+ has seen an astounding amount of growth in demand this year, which has largely been driven by its “Star Trek” programming — but it appears as if that starship is heading back to earth.
The streaming service has shown a sustained growth in demand for its original programming beginning at the end of 2021, according to Parrot Analytics‘ data, which takes into account consumer research, streaming, downloads and social media, among other engagement.
Since the second half of 2021, the share of demand for Paramount+ originals has grown each quarter, from 3.4% in Q2 2021 to 5.4% in Q2 2022. This growth in demand for the platform’s original content has been driven by an expanding “Star Trek” universe but also the platform’s investments in new series like “Yellowstone” prequel, “1883,” and video-game adaptation “Halo.”
That demand has translated into nice subscriber growth as Paramount+ added 4.9 million subscribers in Q2 2022, growing to 43 million total paid subscribers. The growth for the streaming service is impressive after comparing it to the continued loss of subscribers for the quarter for Netflix, as well as the Peacock subscribers that stayed flat for the quarter.
Up until this growth period, Paramount+ had been flying under the radar — a bit of an underdog in the streaming wars, although it has been around longer than many platforms when you consider its earlier incarnation, CBS All Access.
While Paramount ranks in the top three corporations when considering the total demand for series from its various arms, the company’s flagship streaming service has lagged competitors in other measures of the demand for content on the platform. In terms of its share of demand for Paramount+ originals, it’s behind newer rivals like HBO Max and Apple TV+.
The critical importance of the “Star Trek” franchise to Paramount+’s strategy is clear when we look at the most in-demand originals from the platform in Q2. The two most in-demand series for the quarter and five of the top 10 are “Star Trek” series.
But if we focus on demand for the most recent series premiere in the “Star Trek” franchise, “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” we see that it failed to surpass demand for “Star Trek: Picard” in its first season. This could be an indicator that new spinoffs are seeing diminishing returns in an increasingly crowded franchise.
It may be a wise decision for Paramount to direct more resources to other projects like its growing “Yellowstone” universe (“1883”, “1932”) to get the most value out of its investment as it broadens its potential subscriber base. The platform has already cornered the market on die-hard trekkies, further “Star Trek” series would probably serve more to keep this fan base around than to attract new audiences.
The “Star Trek” franchise is clearly still delivering audience attention to the platform, but other recent successful series provide a glimpse of a future where the platform has further diversified its original content. This will be an important next step if Paramount+ hopes to continue its growth.
For more from WrapPRO content partner Parrot Analytics, visit the Data and Analysis Hub.
