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Paramount Global (PARA) to Launch Paramount+ in Italy on Sep 15

Zacks Equity Research
·4 min read

Paramount Global PARA shares are down 13.2% in the year-to-date period compared with the Zacks Media Conglomerates industry’s decline of 18.2% and the Consumer Discretionary sector’s decline of 26.8%.

Among other factors, the outperformance can be attributed to the company’s constant efforts to expand the availability of its streaming services internationally. Paramount+ will arrive on Sep 15 in Italy with some 8,000 hours of content spanning all genres at launch.

This launch, followed by Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France in the coming months will take Paramount+ to all major European markets by the end of the year.

Subscribers in Italy will have access to 8,000 hours of content, spanning all genres, including the Paramount originals available in other markets like Yellowstone, The Offer, Tulsa King and Halo. The platform will also showcase third-party local originals, including the new Brit series Sexy Beast, French thriller Mask: Marie Antoinette Serial Killer and German drama Simon Beckett’s Chemistry of Death.

Paramount has also greenlit a slate of local titles, including the thriller Corpo Libero, the original production erotic drama 14 Days and Circeo, a true-crime drama set in 1970s Italy.

The subscription for Paramount+ in Italy will cost around $8.22 (€7.99) per month or $82.03 (€79.90) annually.

Paramount Global Price and Consensus

Paramount Global Price and Consensus
Paramount Global Price and Consensus

Paramount Global price-consensus-chart | Paramount Global Quote

Focus on Footprint Expansion Drives Growth

Over the last few years, the company has been focused on expanding its global footprint. To cater to its goal, Paramount Global has been steadily expanding its partner base and is undertaking accretive acquisitions to boost the top line.

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Paramount Global’s Q2 results reflected strong Filmed Entertainment revenue growth and a spike in viewership for its streaming services, boosted by the strong adoption of Paramount+. Direct-To-Consumer subscription revenues soared 74% year over year to $830 million, reflecting paid subscriber growth on Paramount+.

Global streaming subscribers rose to nearly 64 million, which included the addition of 5.2 million new subscribers and the removal of 3.9 million Russian subscribers in the quarter. Subscriber additions were driven by Paramount+, which added 4.9 million subscribers in the second quarter, taking Paramount+ total subscribers to almost 43 million.

Beyond Europe, Paramount is gearing up for an India launch for Paramount+ in 2023. The company’s FAST service Pluto TV is also making international waves, recently turning up in the Nordics and Canada.

On Aug 3, Paramount Global and Roku ROKU announced that Paramount+ would be launched as a Premium Subscription within The Roku Channel later in the month. This will make Paramount+ critically acclaimed originals, hit movies, a world-class library of popular series, 24/7 news and marquee sports, accessible directly to consumers within The Roku Channel.

Paramount’s live sports arsenal includes NFL programming on CBS Sports as well as coverage of UEFA soccer games.

In January 2021, the company renewed its CBS Television Network affiliation agreement with Nexstar’s NXST wholly-owned subsidiary Nexstar Media and its operating partners in 39 markets across the country. The combined reach of the 39 markets is 14% of the U.S.-based audience, serving 17.4 million television households.

Per the agreement, Nexstar’s CBS affiliates will continue to be available locally to Paramount+ subscribers and widely-distributed Virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributor platforms.

The affiliation agreement with Nexstar Media will enable this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company to drive greater efficiency and expand its footprint to connect with more people. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Around the same time, Paramount also entered into a distribution agreement with Comcast CMCSA division Comcast Cable, per which Paramount’s entire portfolio of channels will be available to the latter’s Xfinity customers.

Comcast’s Xfinity customers, through their X1 and Flex devices, can now avail CBS Television Network, BET, CBS Sports Network, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Pop TV, Smithsonian Channel, SHOWTIME, and streaming services Paramount+, Pluto TV and SHOWTIME OTT.


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