Home of “Tulsa King” and “1923” getting big views on less content than leading streamers
Paramount+’s momentum hasn’t slowed down in 2023. In fact, the service topped Whip Media’s ranker for the first two weeks of the year, coming in ahead of Netflix, HBO Max, and Disney+.
So what’s working for Paramount+?
Anything connected to the “Yellowstone” universe, for starters. “1923,” the “Yellowstone” spinoff series starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, has been a verified hit since debuting in December; The show has been responsible for pushing Paramount+ to the top of Whip Media’s weekly rankings as of late, with “1923” the most-streamed series in America to start the year.
Another winner for Paramount+ has been “Tulsa King,” Paramount+’s new series starring Sly Stallone as a veteran mafioso who sets up shop in Oklahoma after 25 years in the Clink. It also benefits from a strong supporting cast, which includes “Sopranos” alum Max Casella, “Silicon Valley” Martin Starr and actress-comedienne Andrea Savage.
“Tulsa King” was a consistent performer for Paramount+, with the show appearing in Whip Media’s top rankings each week between its November premiere and the season finale earlier this month. And yes, the “Tulsa King” was also produced by Sheridan.
It’s worth pointing out that both “1923” and “Tulsa King” closely mirrored the performance of “1883,” Sheridan’s first “Yellowstone” spinoff series, which was among the top 10 most-streamed shows a year ago. Regularly ranked in Whip Media’s data.
Among the shows involving Sheridan, “Seal Team” and “Criminal Minds” are also driving big views for Paramount+.
Let’s go back to the fourth quarter for a moment. Netflix and Paramount+ were first and second in terms of total exposure on Whip Media’s Top 10 Ranker (Paramount+ shows made the cut 24 times compared to 28 times for Netflix shows.)
But both the services reached their destination in two different ways. Where Netflix fights to attract the attention of the audience by releasing a lot of shows on one side. This helps Netflix consistently make it to Whip Media’s top 10, thanks to its slew of new shows and popular returning series. (Netflix’s hit movies in the quarter included “The Crown,” “Wednesday” and its “Harry and Meghan” documentary.) Whip Media’s Weekly Ranker featured Netflix’s 28 productions spread across 12 different series during the quarter .
The Paramount+, on the other hand, is taking fewer swings but still hitting a fair amount of dingers. The service only had five titles, which made 24 top 10 appearances in the quarter, suggesting that once a Paramount+ show resonates with fans, it has staying power until the season ends.
“It’s all about release strategies. When Netflix drops all the episodes of a series at once, they’re commanding a portion of the audience’s attention at once. The time spent is high, but it’s time is in a tight window,” explained Eric Steinberg, media research and insights lead at Whip Media. “For this to be effective in the long run, Netflix’s strategy needs to generate more content than other platforms that release episodes in a measured cadence.”
He added: “Even with specific budget figures not available, it was more efficient for Netflix than Disney+ and Paramount+ to stay among the top watched programs.”
And of course, Paramount+ would look even better than its competitors if Paramount Network’s most famous show, “Yellowstone,” were on the service. Kevin Costner’s hit show is exclusively available to stream on Peacock.
Still, the results are clear: Paramount+ is a streaming powerhouse, due in large part to Taylor Sheridan and the shows he created. Don’t be surprised if Paramount CEO Bob Bakish is on the phone with them right now, negotiating terms on another “Yellowstone” spinoff.
Sean Burch is a Marketing Insights Analyst at Rappro partner Whip Media. Click here for more from Whip Media.
