The Star Trek films bouncing around streaming services is proof Paramount+ has failed

We've spent the last two years talking about how poorly run Paramount+ has been. The over-burdened and underdeveloped streaming service has failed to live up to its promise, and while it boasts an estimated 60+ million subscribers, the service is losing money hand over fist. A major reason has been the cost of shows like Star Trek: Discovery, Picard, and others. Another has been its mismanagement and unchecked spending in the early years.

Another was the merger of sorts of Viacom and Paramount. That was supposed to be a big one, but the costs involved were huge and despite combining so many different networks under one roof, fans never really came to support the service. At least not to the extent needed.

It's probably fair to say that Paramount's free service, Pluto TV has more viewers on it actively than Paramount+. The last figures on Pluto TV had nearly 80+ million active users. That data was from September of 2023. As of April 29, 2024, Paramount+ has only 70+ million. Assuming Pluto TV didn't tank in viewership, it's fair to say that the figures for the free service have just continued to grow.

It's no surprise, unlike Paramount+, Pluto TV is pretty consistent with its offerings. They have plenty of sports, entertainment, and docuseries worth checking out, with entire channels dedicated to the weird and whacky. You could watch TNA Wrestling, then jump to Unsolved Mysteries, all while checking out what classic Nickelodeon competition show is on.

Paramount+, the home of Star Trek, can't even regularly guarantee its Star Trek offerings. The classic film franchise comes and goes so often, that you could probably start cooking a roast when the movies leave and be ready to take it out by the time the movies return to the service.

If you can't live up to the idea of Star Trek being in one location, then you know your service has truly failed. Paramount+ won't be long for the world, and if Paramount is smart, they'd agree to a deal with Netflix now, and just port everything over there. That way you can at least guarantee the most possible eyes on the product, while also delivering all of Star Trek in one, easy-to-find, place.