Paramount+ has announced a large-scale expansion of its streaming service, with a number of new shows and plans to bring the platform to British screens in 2022.
In case we needed another one. In case the current plethora of digital streaming services wasn’t enough. In case there wasn’t already rife competition between Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV, Disney+ and Amazon Video, Paramount+ are now throwing their hat into Britain’s streaming service ring, partnering with Sky Q to bring another 10,000 hours of content to UK screens.
Realising the need to offer some quality content to make any kind of dent on the packed market, Paramount+ have announced a host of big name new shows and movies. The platform is to produce a Sonic the Hedgehog series, focusing on Idris Elba’s villain character, Knuckles. Fourteen fresh South Park movies (released bi-annually over seven years) will also arrive, alongside four SpongeBob films, a Dora the Explorer live action series, and a prequel to 2000’s Sexy Beast film.Â
It was also announced that some of Paramount’s biggest upcoming films – including a A Quiet Place sequel, Star Trek, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers – will all move to the streaming platform after their cinema release.
Plans had already been made public for Paramount+ to release both a Frasier reboot and a television adaptation of the hugely successful video game, Halo. The site is already home to the Star Trek franchise. Variety reports that by 2024, Paramount plans to spend $6bn on streaming content.
It is a platter of content sure to turn some heads. Whether or not it will be enough to convince audiences to part with an additional £8-ish a month (UK prices have not yet been revealed), remains to be seen. Any customers who are already Sky Cinema subscribers will receive Paramount+ at no additional cost, but all other Sky customers who want the service will have to add Paramount+ to their account.
The service will likely attract devout fans of the big name releases. A study into the UK streaming market released last month highlighted how marquee content draws huge sign up within 72 hours of release. It also found that roughly 50 per cent of those who signed up within this 72 hour window, had unsubscribed within six months.
