ViacomCBS (VIAC) Expands Paramount+ Content With New Lineup

ViacomCBS (NASDAQ:VIAC)’ VIAC Paramount+ streaming service recently announced new content lineup comprising new movies, original series and live sports coming its service this summer.

Movies like Infinite will premiere exclusively on Jun 10, followed by PAW Patrol: The Movie on Aug 20.

The streaming service will also add more than 1,000 new movies including Rocketman, The Hustle, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mission-Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Footloose, Skyfall, Like a Boss, Star Trek Beyond, The Rhythm Section and more.

Additionally, Paramount+ will stream hundreds of live soccer matches which includes Conacaf Men’s World Cup Qualifiers, UEFA Club Competitions, Italy’s Serie A, NWSA and more. It will also offer premium original series with diversified content ranging from scripted dramas, kids and family to reality, comedy, music and documentaries.

Original shows slated for summer release include iCarly releasing on Jun 17, Evil on Jun 20, The Good Fight on Jun 24 and many more.

Moreover, Paramount+ has launched a new ad-supported plan at $4.99 per month, with premium services available at $9.99 per month.

Expansion of Portfolio to Fend off Competition

Paramount+’s expanding portfolio of content and low cost subscription cost is expected to aid the company’s top-line and subscriber growth in the near term. Markedly, ViacomCBS delivered year-over-year growth of 69% and 62% in streaming subscription revenues and streaming advertising revenues, respectively, in the first quarter, which was significantly driven by the momentum of Paramount+.

Also, ViacomCBS’s global streaming subscribers rose to 36 million, with an addition of 6 million in the first quarter, primarily on the back of sign-ups on Paramount+.

Moreover, solid adoption of ViacomCBS-owned free streaming service, Pluto TV, is a major growth driver. Notably, the company expects Pluto Tv advertisement revenues to hit the $1 billion mark by 2022. Markedly, global Pluto TV monthly active users (MAU) reached nearly 50 million with an increase of 6 million in the first quarter.

Per Tech Radar report, Paramount+ ranked 11 in the best streaming service for 2021. The top 10 positions were occupied by competitors such as Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) NFLX, Amazon's AMZN Prime video, Disney+ and Apple’s AAPL streaming service- Apple TV+.

Paramount’s low cost pricing is expected to be a game changer amid rising competition in the video streaming market, which is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 21% from 2021 to 2028, as per report from Grand View Research.

While Netflix basic subscription is available at $8.99 per month and Amazon Prime subscription is at $12.99 per month, Paramount+ offers a low cost subscription at just $4.99 per month. This low cost subscription includes sports, NFL games, movies and shows, news through CBSN and more than 1600 soccer matches.

Netflix announced the final season of its one of the most popular spanish crime drama series Money Heist, with its two volumes releasing in September and December this year. The season 4 of the show became one of the most watched series on Netflix with almost 65 million views.

Moreover, Amazon has agreed to buy MGM studios, which strengthens it’s market with the inclusion of the James Bond franchise along with some 4,000 films and 17,000 tv shows.

Despite facing competition from giants such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, the broad range of entertainment offered by this Zacks #3 Rank (Hold) company gives it immense space to grow, especially backed by its exclusive sports content portfolio. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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