Paramount+ has entered the big leagues of streaming, boosted by parent company ViacomCBS. But can Paramount+ hold its own in such a crowded market?

The streaming service joins some major names, such as Disney+, HBO Max, and Netflix. This article will explore whether Paramount+ can compete in this saturated, high-demand market.

ViacomCBS Rebranded CBS All Access to Paramount+

In March 2021, ViacomCBS unveiled its rebranded, bigger-and-better version of CBS All Access with a new name: Paramount+. The service launched with thousands of TV shows and movies, with plenty of original and exclusive content promised for the future.

Related: Paramount+: Everything You Need to Know About the New Streaming Service

So why the name change? It seems the company is trying to appeal to a younger audience, one which may associate CBS with the older generation. More importantly, the name Paramount+ is consistent with the modern streaming landscape—one that also includes Disney+, Apple TV+ and Discovery+.

Is There Room for Growth in the Entertainment Streaming Market?

man watching TV

Paramount+ joins a market that is only growing. According to research from Grand View Research (GVR), the streaming market was valued at $50.11 billion globally in 2020. It's expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 21.0% from 2021 to 2028.

Netflix accounts for a whopping 51% of the global streaming market. It’s no wonder that Paramount+ is following in the footsteps of newer services like HBO Max and Disney+ in trying to claim a slice of Netflix's crown.

Related: A New Survey Claims Netflix Offers the Best Original Content

There's a Rising Demand for Streaming Services

family on laptop

Paramount+ enters the market at a time when it is ripe for quality streaming content due to families spending more time at home as a result of COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.

This has resulted in streaming services seeing a 10% rise in viewership worldwide, as reported by GVR. And some streaming services are enjoying a bigger hike in numbers, such as Netflix, which has, for the first time, registered more than a 50% spike in first-time mobile app installations in Italy.

More importantly, as reported by Nielsen, 25% of adults have signed up to a new streaming service in the past three months, while only 2% are reducing the number of paid services they subscribe to.

How Many Subscribers Does Paramount+ Have Compared to Competitors?

ViacomCBS' Q1 2021 earnings report showed that the company has nearly 36 million subscribers across Paramount+, Showtime, and BET Plus, with six million of that number from Paramount+ alone.

It's important to note that ViacomCBS was founded (through a merger of CBS Corporation and Viacom) in 2019 and has been finding its footing in the streaming world since. It hopes to reach between 65 and 75 million global streaming subscribers by 2024.

So what does some of its competition look like?

HBO Max

Number of subscribers: 44.2 million (only available in the US)

While HBO Max launched in May 2020, its subscriber count is impressive. This is no doubt because of its library of acclaimed shows from HBO and movie titles from Warner Bros. It was also the only platform to watch movies like Wonder Woman 1984, Zack Snyder's Justice League, and Godzilla vs. Kong during the pandemic.

Disney+

Number of subscribers: 104 million (across 59 countries)

Disney+ launched in November 2019 in the US, then began expanding globally. It took Disney+ only 18 months to hit 100 million subscribers, which is quite impressive.

But its meteoric rise, like HBO Max, is probably fueled by its catalog of well-loved movies and TV shows, including content from brands like Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar.

Netflix

Number of subscribers: 208 million subscribers (across 190 countries, with 74 million subscribers in US and Canada alone)

Netflix is the leading streaming service in the market and therefore Paramount+'s biggest rival.

With the company having double the amount of subscribers as Disney+, along with the loyalty of its subscribers and its array of award-winning original content, it may be awhile before anyone catches up.

Related: Which Streaming Service Offers the Best Original Content?

Can Paramount+ Survive in a Crowded Market?

While Paramount+ enters the streaming wars with a strong catalog, it hasn't quite exploded like Disney+ did. Perhaps it just needs more time to grow and publish its original and exclusive content, and to expand into more territories.

As it stands, it isn't the only streaming service with well-loved titles from the archive, so it'll take more than that to cause a significant dent in the market.