Paramount+ latest streamer to bet on creating multiple subscription tiers to keep customers on board.
- Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico first to get new Premium plan.
- Australia and Canada will also get new cheaper tier with adverts.
- The plan is to roll out these new tiers in more countries worldwide, in a sign of what’s to come in the UK.
Streamers are looking at how Netflix has continued to grow its subscriber numbers by clamping down on account sharing and by launching multiple tiers to encourage cost-conscious consumers to keep on subscribing.
Disney+ follows next month in the UK and parts of Europe, and now Paramount+ is about to start rolling out multiple subscription tiers.
Countries including Australia and Canada will be the test bed for the new Paramount+ tiers, which includes a new Premium option from mid-November. Premium increases the number of concurrent devices that can access the service from two to four. (In some countries the number of concurrent streams allowed varies.) The recently introduced ‘mobile plan’ will be retained in Brazil and Mexico.
Meanwhile, subscribers in Australia and Canada will gain access to a new, cheaper ad-supported tier from 2024.
For Marco Nobili, Executive Vice President and General International Manager for Paramount+, the move is all about reaching different types of customer. He commented:
“After expanding our footprint to more than 45 markets last year, we are focused on scaling our business and providing customer choice. Following the launch of the Mobile plan in Mexico and Brazil, the introduction of the Premium and Ad-supported plans will give us the ability to better serve different consumer segments by providing multiple pricing options while also tapping into tremendous opportunities among our advertising and brand partners,”
Ultimately, the multiple tiers allow streamers to start doing what traditional pay TV operators have long been doing. Namely, charging more for certain features. Paramount+ Premium will include 4K UHD, HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Other tiers will only provide HD.
All eyes will be on Paramount’s subscribers figures in 2024. If the initial rollout goes well, a wider rollout will follow.
Marc Thornham