The Case to Not Shutter Paramount+
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Here is the complete list of streaming services with more subscribers than Paramount+: Netflix, Disney+, and maybe Max. (Warner Bros. Discovery does not break out linear HBO from its Max/Discovery+ number.) That’s it.
Paramount+ has 71 million subscribers, and yet the prevailing theory is that whomever buys Paramount (or control of Paramount) — if anyone does — will shutter the SVOD/AVOD service.
Why’s that? Well, for starters, Paramount+ has yet to make money. It’s on the clock, though: Paramount management has the streamer pegged to turn a profit in the U.S. in 2025. It’d be a shame to close something that has lost billions of dollars right before it starts to make money — unless you’d make more money licensing the content currently on the platform, that is. Related Stories When ‘The Morning Show’ Ventured Into the Heat, the Makeup Needed Its Own Cooler Aubrey Plaza: ‘I’d Rather Humiliate Myself’ for Roles to Make Audiences Feel More Confident
And that is almost surely what Sony would do if it ended up as the owner of Paramount’s assets, though David Faber of CNBC just threw some cold water on that scenario. Years ago, Sony saw that its Crackle service would never compete with other streamers, so it sold the platform and became an arms dealer for Netflix, primarily. Sony’s POV on licensing Paramount productions vs. placing them on Paramount+ is likely the same; many media analysts share the perspective.
