The ever-growing list of TV shows you “simply must watch” is about to get even longer, with another streaming service set to launch in Australia.
Paramount+ will replace the “sad” 10 All Access platform, and will launch on August 11.
The platform is already live in the US, as Channel 10 and CBS’s parent company, ViacomCBS, continues its rebrand.
The good news is that Paramount+ promises a drastic improvement to the current 10 All Access library, which for $10 a month currently offers a pitifully small selection of shows you probably wouldn’t want to watch even if they were free.
As of August, Paramount+ will give us access to 20,000 titles from Showtime, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Sony Pictures Television and Paramount Pictures – all for $8.99.
This includes the highly anticipated revival of serial killer drama, Dexter and Viola Davis-led Michelle Obama anthology series The First Lady.
The bad news is that not only is this another drop in the pool of platforms we now have on offer, it’s also swiping previously free content.
Shows like the eagerly awaited second season of Australian Drama Five Bedrooms will now premiere exclusively on Paramount+, despite the first season showing for free on Channel 10.
New Australian drama Spreadsheet, 6 Festivals and Last King of the Cross will also be exclusive to the subscription platform.
Channel 10 promised the revamp will “delight Australian audiences with unique stories, iconic stars and a mountain of entertainment”.
But with Stan, Disney+, Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Binge, BritBox and Hayu on the market already, do we really need another one?
Battle of the streaming giants
If Paramount+ intends to get a slice of the Australian streaming pie, it will need to fight to make room for itself among the other, well-established giants.
Research conducted by JustWatch indicates that our top-three streaming services (Netflix, Stan and Amazon Prime) make up 66 per cent of the market.
Netflix unsurprisingly dominates, holding 31 per cent of the market with a 12 per cent margin.
Amazon Prime and Stan follow closely at 19 and 16 per cent respectively, while relative newcomer Binge takes up 8 per cent, despite launching less than a year ago.
Disney+ and Binge are two of the only platforms to show growth in their market share between January and March, while the rest of the bunch showed substantial decreases.
This comes as many platforms, including Netflix, report a dip in their share following the streaming surge that occurred around this time last year as the pandemic sent us into lockdown.
While Paramount+ is likely to have some solid titles to entice audiences, the introduction of yet another streaming service might not even register as a blip on the radar in such an overly crowded streaming market.
The post Paramount+ prepares to launch, but Australians might not tune in appeared first on The New Daily.
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