By Joe Flint
Paramount has a new streaming pitch to catch up to its rivals: more shows and sleeker technology.
When Skydance Media closed on its deal to acquire Paramount last August, the top priority for Chief Executive David Ellison was to overhaul the company's streaming services Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
This week, Paramount is detailing its progress to advertisers, unveiling a slate of new shows and technological improvements it hopes will boost subscribers and ad revenue and lift it out of also-ran status.
The content lineup features pricey dramas with big stars attached including Anne Hathaway, Nicole Kidman and Jeremy Strong as part of its strategy to build a slate of content that can compete with bigger rivals such as Netflix and Disney+.
Cindy Holland, a former Netflix executive who leads the company's direct-to-consumer business, has signed off on 20 new and returning shows for subscription streaming service Paramount+ since joining the company last year, the company said. Holland was also instrumental in wooing "Stranger Things" creators Matt and Ross Duffer to Paramount from their longtime home at Netflix.
Paramount+ has about 79 million subscribers worldwide, far fewer than Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+, and it is trying to add more fast.
Paramount's presentations to advertisers, part of the annual series of "upfront" events, comes at a pivotal time for the company that also owns CBS, Nickelodeon and MTV. Paramount recently reached a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery to accelerate its streaming push. If Paramount successfully closes on the deal it will add the HBO Max streaming service to its arsenal.
In addition to hiring Holland, Ellison also brought in former Meta and Google executive Dane Glasgow as chief product officer to make the services more appealing to consumers by improving personalization and advertisers by using artificial intelligence to serve data more quickly. Paramount has tried since then to make its services more user friendly.
Ellison has shown a willingness to spend big money on entertainment and sports to drive subscriptions and advertising. Its biggest swing is a $7.7 billion, seven-year deal for UFC fights that launched in January.
Recent hit shows that Paramount will tout to brands include "The Madison, " starring Michelle Pfeiffer from prolific creator Taylor Sheridan ("Landman"), which was renewed for a third season. His next new show for Paramount+, "Frisco King" starring Samuel L. Jackson, will debut later this year or early 2027.
Under Holland, Paramount+ is also more open to buying content from outside suppliers.
"You want the best artists wherever they happen to be working," Holland said.
Pluto TV, Paramount's free streamer, is also expected to play a crucial role in re-energizing the company's direct-to-consumer business, including by spending more on popular reruns. The service had 90 million monthly active users last year.
"It's not just the 'Gunsmoke' channel," said Holland.
The company is expanding the number of shows and movies on Pluto that users can access on-demand. Pluto has seen a 50% jump in on-demand viewing over the past year, Glasgow said.
Write to Joe Flint at Joe.Flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 15, 2026 09:00 ET (13:00 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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