ViacomCBS said CBS All Access and Showtime OTT had their best ever quarter for sign-ups and reached 19.2 million domestic streaming subscribers, up 71% year over year.
The company attributed CBS All Access’ growth to demand for sports content including the NFL, UEFA and SEC, along with original programming like “Star Trek: Discovery” and “The Stand.” Showtime’s streaming growth was similarly pinned on demand for original programming and theatricals.
All together, ViacomCBS’ global streaming subscribers rose to nearly 30 million, up 56% year over year.
The fourth-quarter update arrived on the same day that ViacomCBS officially unveiled Paramount+, its upcoming expanded and rebranded All Access streaming service, and promised to provide more details about its full streaming strategy going forward.
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Besides CBS All Access (soon to be Paramount+) and Showtime, a key streaming pillar for ViacomCBS is Pluto TV. The company said the ad-supported streaming service grew its global monthly active users (MAUs) to 43 million, up 80% year over year. That includes 12.9 million international MAUs in markets including Spain and Brazil.
Pluto TV’s domestic MAUs increased to 30.1 million, up 34% year over year, and the company said it more than doubled its advertising revenue in the quarter.
With the increase in users and ad dollars, Pluto TV also saw growth in total viewing minutes and average monthly watch time per user, including across connected TVs and mobile devices.
“We started 2020 with clear goals: unlock the power of our combination, build robust operating momentum and accelerate our streaming strategy – and we delivered. In Q4, despite the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, we finished the year with strong advertising and affiliate results that demonstrate the strength of our core businesses and achieved incredible growth across our linked streaming ecosystem, reaching nearly 30 million global subscribers and over 43 million Pluto TV global MAUs,” said ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish in a statement.