Paramount+ App Redesign: Key Findings
- Paramount Skydance launched a redesigned Paramount+ app for iPhone users with a scrollable short-form video feed.
- Paramount accounted for just 2% of global streaming app usage in Q1 2026, with YouTube carrying 59 times more users.
- Netflix and Disney+ are creating similar strategies, with Netflix investing in video podcasts and Disney+ integrating vertical video into its app.
Paramount Skydance has redesigned its Paramount+ app to lead with short-form video.
A new version of the app, currently available to iPhone users, presents a scrollable feed of short clips.
@paramountplus Welcome to the peak of streaming. Enjoy the view. Stream all of these titles and more now on Paramount+ (select titles available only with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan).
♬ original sound - Paramount+
It includes options such as sports highlights, CBS News segments, UFC moments, and movie and show trailers.
The redesign is part of a wider overhaul of Paramount's streaming services, covering both Paramount+ and Pluto TV, which the company outlined to advertisers last week.
In Q1 2026, Paramount accounted for just 2% of global streaming app usage, according to Sensor Tower data, with YouTube carrying 59 times as many users.
The Wider Industry Context
The timing is in line with a streaming industry that is running out of patience with traditional viewing habits.
Paramount's goal is for users to open the app several times a day, just like they already do with TikTok or Instagram.
The media giant also aims to increase daily engagement with new features like real-time statistics during UFC Fight Night events and interactive viewing elements.
This comes at a time when Netflix and Disney+ are also offering more vertical video content, hinting at something bigger than one platform trying to grow its numbers.
Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters told investors the company hopes short-form clips will promote its programming slate.
To match this goal, podcasts featuring Pete Davidson, Michael Irvin, and Brian Williams are already in development.
Disney's EVP of Product Management Erin Teague also confirmed the company is integrating vertical video in ways that are native to core user behaviors.
Three major streaming platforms moving toward short-form video in the same quarter points to a major change how the industry thinks about social engagement.
Industry executives say Paramount may also explore working with digital creators and influencers, and is considering shorter programs designed for mobile viewing.
Implications for Brands and Advertisers
The redesign opens new advertising inventory on a platform that previously offered limited short-form placement options.
If Paramount can build the daily opening habit it is aiming for, the app will move from an occasional destination to a consistent media touchpoint.
The short-form feed is only valuable if the subscriber base is there to see it.
At 2% of global streaming usage, the platform has ground to cover before the inventory becomes competitive with YouTube or TikTok at scale.
Paramount+'s app redesign is worth analyzing for brands with streaming and short-form video in their media plans:
- Track the inventory as it develops: New short-form placements on Paramount+ may offer a less saturated advertising environment than established short-form platforms.
- Watch the UFC and live sport integration: Real-time interactive features during live events could represent a new advertising context if Paramount builds them out.
- Note the creator and influencer direction: A move into UGC and creator partnerships would open a content marketing channel that doesn't currently exist on the platform.
Streaming platforms borrowing from social media is now standard practice.
The question for brands is which platforms execute it well enough to generate the engagement that makes the advertising worth buying.
Our Take: Can Paramount Make Short-Form Work?
We think the strategy's timing is good, but the execution window is narrow and there's also a real distribution problem here.
Paramount has strong assets to work with, including sports rights, CBS News, UFC, and a library of recognizable film and TV franchises.
These are all natural sources for short, shareable clips.
The bigger issue is that Paramount+'s clips are already live on YouTube, where the platform already has 2 million subscribers and around 60 million views a month.
Getting users to watch the same content inside Paramount+, behind a paywall, requires a reason that a free YouTube feed doesn't already provide.
Brands building short-form and streaming video strategies need agencies that understand how to evaluate emerging inventory against established platforms.
Explore the top video marketing agencies in our directory.
