Paramount+ India Launch Set for 2023, No Word if It'll Merge With Voot

Paramount+ will launch in India in 2023, in partnership with Viacom18, Paramount Global announced Tuesday.

Viacom18 is joint owned by Paramount and Network18, with the latter holding a controlling share. Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries owns a major chunk of Network18. Viacom18 currently operates the streaming service Voot in India, which is the home of select Paramount+ content such as Halo and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

It's unclear at this point if Voot and Paramount+ will be merged in India, or whether they will exist standalone. Voot, the home of Bigg Boss, touts itself as the second biggest AVOD platform in India after Disney+ Hotstar.

Bob Bakish, President & CEO, Paramount, outlined the company's global plans for the streaming service during its first quarter earnings report announcement on Tuesday.

Paramount+ will also be launched in South Korea in June and head to Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland, and Austria in the second half of the year.

"Paramount is known for its leading portfolio of premium entertainment brands and a robust content engine that fuels our rapidly expanding streaming service, Paramount+. This year will be monumental for our streaming strategy as we accelerate our global ambitions, rapidly expanding Paramount+ in Europe beginning with the UK, Italy, Germany, France, and more by the end of this year and debut in Asia with South Korea in June, followed by India in 2023," said Raffaele Annecchino, President and CEO, International Networks, Studios and Streaming, Paramount Global, in a statement.

"With an already expansive global footprint and a strong, long-term market-by-market strategy, we are well poised to continue our positive momentum," added Annecchino.

Paramount+ touted access to the likes of the Star Trek universe, new seasons of Yellowstone series, as well as South Park and the MTV Shores franchise, along with kids and family favourites like SpongeBob SquarePants, PAW Patrol, and Rugrats, and other upcoming projects.

It will be available across a variety of devices and platforms, including mobile phones and tablets, Android TV, Apple TV, Apple TV Channels, Chromecast, Roku, Samsung TV (2017+), desktop computers or mobile Web, with more to be announced in the future.

Internationally, the streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including Showtime, BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, and the Smithsonian Channel, in addition to a robust offering of local content.

Paramount+ is currently live in the US, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Nordics, and Australia.