Paramount Plus subscriber count has grown to nearly 40 million

Image: Paramount Plus

The subscriber count of Paramount Plus has ballooned to almost 40 million with the service gaining 6.8 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, Paramount announced in its earnings report on Tuesday. The company's direct-to-consumer revenue, which includes Paramount Plus and its free TV streaming service, increased 82 percent year over year, because of an increase in subscriber count.

Advertising revenue increased 59 percent while revenue from subscriptions for both Pluto TV and Paramount Plus grew 95 percent. The company says that Paramount Plus subscribers watched more shows for longer periods of time. The service strengthened its roster of shows, which drove this along with a higher subscriber count.

The second season of Star Trek: Picard, an original spinoff of the series, was released by Paramount Plus last month. It is also home to Star Trek: Discovery, SpongeBob's Under Years, and Rugrats and iCarly. Yesterday, Paramount Plus announced that it was bringing back Yo! MTV Raps on May 24th.

Paramount Plus, which has been around for a little over a year now, may not be considered a streaming monolith yet, but it looks like some of its original content is attracting more subscribers, which will likely increase following its expansion to the UK and Ireland in June. While Paramount Plus notes its subscriber count is on the rise, it lost a small fraction of its over 200 million subscribers last quarter, its first subscriber decline in over 10 years. The company hopes to make up for the loss by cracking down on password sharing and introducing a cheaper option. Paramount Plus has an ad-supported $4.99 / month plan or a $9.99 / month ad-free option.