Paramount Global says it will launch its flagship streaming service Paramount Plus in two more countries next month, followed by a broader international expansion to take place later this year.
The streaming service will debut in the United Kingdom and South Korea in June, the Paramount’s Chief Executive Officer Robert Bakish said on a conference call with investors after the company released its quarterly earnings on Tuesday.
Paramount Plus will land in several other countries in the second half of 2022, Bakish said. Countries slated for expansion include Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.
Next year, the streaming service will debut in India through a partnership with Viacom18, which is a joint venture between Paramount Global and the privately-held Network18 Group.
Paramount said it is targeting a reach of 100 million direct-to-consumer streaming subscribers by 2024. It is nearly half-way there, with Paramount Plus reaching almost 40 million worldwide subscribers spurred by the addition of 6.8 million customers last quarter.
Overall, the company has more than 62.4 million paying subscribers across all of its direct-to-consumer products, including an Internet-only version of Showtime and the standalone streaming application BET Plus.
Paramount Global said it also saw growth on its free, ad-supported streaming service Pluto TV, which is owned by the company but operates as an autonomous unit. Pluto TV logged 67.5 million active monthly users, an increase of 3.1 million, spurred in part by an aggressive international expansion strategy and the launch of nearly 100 more linear content channels.
