New York – Paramount Global is expanding the availability of its streaming service Paramount+ in India and the Philippines through new branded content hubs with local distribution partners.
The moves reflect Paramount’s strategy of leveraging partnerships to increase Paramount+’s reach and profitability globally. This approach allows the company to make its content available in markets where launching a full direct-to-consumer Paramount+ service may not be viable currently.
Paramount+ has partnered with India’s JioCinema, the country’s most popular streaming platform with over 150 million monthly active users. Through this deal, JioCinema will create a Paramount+ branded hub featuring licensed Paramount movies and shows.
This replicates Paramount’s successful branded hub strategy already implemented in markets like Greece and Belgium. The JioCinema deal provides Paramount+ instant access to an enormous built-in audience in India, one of the world’s fastest growing streaming markets.
In the Philippines, Paramount+ is teaming up with Tap Digital Media Ventures. Tap DMV will launch a Paramount+ branded extension on its Blast TV streaming service debuting in June.
Announcing the deals at the NATPE conference in Miami, Paramount Global executives Lisa Kramer and Pam Kaufman positioned branded hubs as an “exciting new approach to licensing.” The model allows Paramount+ content to be fully integrated into partners’ platforms locally.
Kramer noted that licensing deals provide “instant profitability and cash flow” for Paramount+. This is key as media companies overall look to rein in content budgets amidst a turbulent economic climate.
Paramount has actively pursued licensing partnerships globally since last summer. Kramer said the company has had “great conversations” with many potential hub partners beyond JioCinema and Tap DMV.
According to Kaufman, spreading Paramount+ content widely is “critical for us.” She said branded hubs will be an “important part of our model” for Paramount+’s international rollout moving forward. Kaufman added that bringing Paramount+ to new markets also boosts related consumer products opportunities.
The streaming expansion news comes as Wall Street closely monitors Paramount+ subscriber growth and profitability metrics. While Paramount+ ended 2023 with over 63 million subscribers, some analysts remain concerned about the high operational costs of streaming.
Paramount Global executives have not set a concrete timeline for Paramount+ to reach profitability. However, CEO Bob Bakish said last November that the company is making progress on the path towards streaming profitability.
Beyond streaming, Paramount+ parent company Paramount Global is also in the spotlight amidst recent reports of its controlling shareholder Shari Redstone exploring potential sale options. Redstone has reportedly had talks with companies like Skydance Media about acquiring parts of Paramount.
The India and Philippines hub deals demonstrate Paramount’s pragmatic approach to balancing subscriber growth, costs, and profitability as it competes in the crowded global streaming market. Leveraging brand licensing helps Paramount+ capitalize on high demand for its content worldwide.
According to analysts, Paramount will likely pursue additional branded hub and platform distribution partnerships as part of its strategy to scale Paramount+ efficiently across international markets in 2023 and beyond.
