A year today since Paramount+ launched was in Australia.
With Paramount Australia and New Zealand also owning Network 10, this allows them to tap into and target both the free-to-air viewers as well as a growing subscription audience.
AdNews spoke with Beverley McGarvey, executive vice president and chief content officer for Paramount Australia and New Zealand, about Paramount+, what linear TV audiences are responding to and the value that established content can bring to audiences.
"We have some good local originals - shows like Five Bedrooms have gone really well – as well as a decent volume of Australian sport and the pipeline of content that we get out of the USA.
"When you think about all of that added together, it's led us to a really good place. All of this drives audiences to the platform and they discover that once they get there, we've got a deep library of content and a really efficient price point."
"On the other side, linear TV audiences are spoilt for choice, which is fantastic. They have great Australian content across all of the free-to-air players and the public service broadcasters," said McGarvey.
She said that while people have their favourite shows, Ten is getting a strong response for content that feel fresh and different.
"As an example, Hunted was a great success and we have lots of other new shows in the back half of the year. In an environment where people have a lot of choice, they do love their favourites, but they also like to sample new ideas and different people on TV.
"We're having real success with our comedy shows - Have You Been Paying Attention?, Gogglebox and Would I Lie To You? - and I think, given the state of the world that we're in, I sense that people will be really leaning towards fresh comedy entertainment.
"We recently launched The Masked Singer, which is really a great show for the whole family - it's an escape for an hour where you can just relax and enjoy television, so I'm hoping that sort of content resonates. It's obviously a very, very competitive time slot."
In the streaming space, McGarvey said that both the local originals, as well as the marquee streaming originals - 1883, Halo, Dexter: New Blood etc – are all seeing success, but established shows are working too.
"There's a group of shows that perform really well to particular audiences - things like South Park, iCarly, Paw Patrol and Star Trek. These types of shows really resonate due to some of those brands that people really love still making original content.
"We’re also seeing success with our movie titles; people may have seen a certain movie before, or maybe it’s a new film, but they feel familiar with certain names or familiar titles and they lean into that, so it is a real mix.
"When you're asking people to pay money, and to stay with the service month after month, you need to make sure that they embrace everything in the service. Some people of course come in and out for one show and that's fine, but we want to give them more than that.
"We've had a lot of originals for our first year and we have some great stuff coming up, including The Bridge and Last King of the Cross, that I think will really drive interest."
McGarvey said that the benefit of the 'global machine' that is Paramount, combined with the local nuance of Ten, helps to differentiate the broadcaster from their competition.
"We're in a privileged position where we get to make great local content for Australian audiences, but also, we’re very happy recipients of the content that the global streaming team are making."
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.