Paramount+ added two million subscribers in the second quarter of 2026, taking the overall number of paid subscribers above 81 million. According to Paramount Skydance, Q2 2026 was also its best quarter in terms of subscriber retention.
What You Need to Know
- Paramount+ added two million subscribers in Q2 2026, increasing the overall total to more than 81 million.
- The subscriber additions mark a major improvement over the previous quarter and last year’s quarter loss.
- Since the Paramount–Skydance merger closed in 2025, Paramount+ has grown by nearly five million subscribers.
Paramount+ ended the first quarter of this year with 79.6 million subscribers. With 81.6 million reported for the second quarter, the company managed to add approximately 2 million between April and July 2026.
On a year-over-year basis, Paramount+ ended the second quarter of 2025 with 77.7 million subscribers, resulting in an increase of almost four million subscribers over the past twelve months.
The 2 million additions in Q2 2026 is significantly higher than the 700,000 additions in the first quarter and significantly better than the loss of more than a million subscribers in the second quarter of last year.
The multi-billion merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media officially closed on August 7, 2025.
The latest quarter results also confirm that in the year since then, the streaming service has increased the number of subscribers by almost five million.
Dutton Ranch and UFC Helped Subscriber Retention
On top of proving to be a good quarter for new additions, the streaming service also seemingly had a good quarter in terms of retention.
According to Paramount, Q2 was the best quarter for retention in Paramount+’s history. The company credited the likes of Dutton Ranch, UFC, and the FIFA World Cup for helping fuel this record-level retention.
While Fox and Peacock held the streaming rights for the World Cup in the U.S., through a partnership with DSPORTS, Paramount+ was able to stream every match of the 2026 tournament to fans in six key Latin American markets.
As for Dutton Ranch, Paramount explained that the May 15 launch of the series marked the biggest original series debut in Paramount+ history.
The popular series pulled in 12.9 million viewers during its first week and finished the season with a record-setting 13.4 million average views per episode.
June’s UFC Freedom 250 live event also helped, drawing in a record 17 million viewers. The live event held on the White House South Lawn generated the largest-ever audience for an exclusive live event on Paramount+.
Paramount also said its third quarter is off to a good start, thanks to the likes of Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender and the third season of Lioness.
The company expects the momentum to continue throughout September with the return of MobLand, as well as live events including UEFA, NFL simulcasts, UFC 331, and its first premium live boxing event.
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