Paramount+ is culling its content library. According to an audit by Reelgood, a streaming consumer analytics firm, the platform has cut 64% of its film catalog in the last 12 months.
Reelgood said as of October 15, Paramount+ had 830 movies, less than half of the 2,302 titles it hosted on October 17, 2022. However, the firm found that Paramount+’s collection of TV series has increased 3% year over year to 752 titles this year, including the popular Yellowstone sequel series.
Paramount+ added thousands of movie titles in 2022, up from 642 since January 15, 2021, and is now cutting back to save on paying for residuals and streaming rights.
“Our programming slate is designed to ensure that each key audience segment has compelling content to enjoy throughout the year,” Chopra said. “Not too little, but also not too much.”
The strategy is working out well for Paramount. In the third fiscal quarter this year, the streaming service added 2.7 million new members, reaching a total of 63 million users. The platform’s revenue from direct-to-consumer services increased by 38%. However, this now means Paramount+ is ahead of only Apple TV+ for the least amount of content available on a streaming platform, far behind Prime Video’s library of 12,071 films and 2,135 TV series.
Paramount+ isn’t the only streaming service culling its content and offering less value for the same, or higher, monthly cost. Reelgood also looked at Prime Video, Netflix, Peacock, Hulu, Max, Disney+, and Apple TV+ and found most are decreasing the number of movie selections offered to their members.
Max’s film selections fell 15% year over year, even declining to release already completed projects like Batgirl and Coyote vs. Acme in lieu of a write-off. The streaming service is also investing more in TV series, doubling its selection to 1,365 titles this year. Unlike Paramount+, however, Max lost 2.5 million members since the end of March.