The oldest American film studio rolled out the blue carpet in London for the launch of its service in the United Kingdom and Ireland on June 22. After the Nordic countries in 2021, Paramount+ is tackling countries further south. Paramount+ is the penultimate service to conquer Europe. Its offer will therefore have to be very attractive to convince SVOD regulars and gain market share against firmly established competitors. Several stars made the trip for the launch of the service, including Sylvester Stallone.
Tom Ryan, CEO of Paramount Streaming said Paramount+ “is a mountain of fun for the whole family, the only service where you’ll see Sylvester Stallone, SpongeBob SquarePants, Star Trek and South Park all in one place, and it all makes Paramount+ what a streaming service is supposed to be.” be. »
To steal subscribers from its American colleagues, but above all to recruit new British, Irish, Italian, German, French users, etc., Paramount+ has implemented a six-pronged strategy:
- Rely on studio programs: films, series, original productions, i.e. 9,000 hours of programs at launch that draw on all studio IPs such as SHOWTIME, Paramount Pictures, Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon;
- Invest in local programs in order to adapt to the tastes of subscribers in each country. Even before the launch, the studio has already ordered 20 programs for the UK, with many more planned in the coming years;
- Develop a real international strategy with a commitment to produce 150 programs, some of which have already been announced. The original series will be produced by VIS, a division of the studio that spans more than 20 countries, in partnership with a series of leading production companies around the world. The list includes the following programs:
– Murder of God’s Banker (International)
– MASK: Marie Antoinette Serial Killer (France) produced by Cottonwood Media. This new collaboration with French producers adds to the one already announced with Gaumont (Le Signal and Impact).
– A Thin Line (Germany)
– The Sheikh (DER SCHEICH) (Germany)
– CIRCEO (Italy)
– Sinaloa’s First Lady (Mexico)
– One must die (Mexico)
- Have an attractive price positioning without being disruptive. Users will be able to sign up for the service for £6.99 per month or £69.90 per year in the UK and €7.99 per month or €79.90 per year in Ireland after a seven-day free trial. Information that confirms that the price in France will probably be 7.99 euros per month. For the record, this is in stark contrast to the US, where Paramount+ is available in two flavors: “Essential”, which features a limited selection of ads shown before programs start, which costs $4.99 per month or $49.99 dollars per year, while “Premium” is the equivalent of what is offered in the UK and does not include any advertising on the streaming platform. The latter costs $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year;
- Have massive means of distribution, which will be the case with the agreement with Sky in Great Britain and with Canal+ in France. Paramount+ will be available to UK users via the app for iOS and Android, as well as supported smart TV devices, as well as Apple, Amazon, Google, Roku and Samsung, among others. Paramount+ will also launch on Sky platforms in the UK and Ireland as part of a new multi-year distribution deal which also includes expanding distribution of Paramount’s pay-TV channel portfolio. Sky Cinema subscribers will have access to Paramount+ at no extra cost through a standalone app on Sky Glass and Sky Q;
- Deploy quickly internationally to catch up on other American streamers: Italy in September, then Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France in December. A total of 45 markets should be launched by the end of the year.