Paramount+ Becomes Latest Streaming Service to Raise Subscription Prices
Paul Dailly
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Paramount+ will raise its subscription prices in the U.S. later this year.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, both the Essential and Premium tiers will get more expensive.
The cost of the advertising-free premium streaming plan will rise from $9.99 per month for Paramount+ to $11.99 for Paramount+ with Showtime, while the essential plan with advertising will see a surge from $4.99 a month to $5.99.
"We all know streaming represents incredible value for consumers. And the Paramount Plus offering is far from the industry price leader," said CEO Bob Bakish said on an earnings call Thursday.
"We are on the value end of the pricing spectrum."
"And so in 2023, we will raise prices both for Paramount Plus Premium and Essential, both in the U.S., and select international markets."
The price hike will coincide with the rebrand on the horizon, which finds Paramount+ becoming Paramount+ with Showtime, meaning that subscribers on the premium tier will have access to Showtime's content.
News broke earlier this year about the merger, revealing that the linear cable would be renamed Paramount+ with Showtime.
The channel is also going through a strategic shift which paved the way for the cancellations of several series.
More recently, the service picked up Uncoupled following its January cancellation at Netflix.
Additionally, Paramount+ with Showtime is zeroing in on its big brands, with Dexter and Billions being set for multiple spinoffs.
Streaming services are facing an uphill battle as the market becomes more saturated.
Gone are the days of Netflix and Prime Video being the only available services.
The selection nowadays is endless, and it's eating into the market share as many services struggle to bring in new subscribers.
Paramount+ added almost 10 million subscribers last quarter, thanks to the success of Top Gun: Maverick and likely the expanded Yellowstone universe.
What are your thoughts on the changes to the streaming prices?
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Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
