Paramount Global has announced the official launch date for Paramount+ With Showtime, which will usher in the end of the standalone Showtime app. And with the app changes comes new prices for Paramount+‘s various subscription offerings. Here’s everything you need to know.
Paramount+ With Showtime will be Paramount+’s new top-tier ad-free subscription plan. It will cost $11.99 per month, a 17 percent increase from its current price ($9.99), but less than competing ad-free subscriptions at HBO Max (Max as of Tuesday, May 23) and Netflix. The Paramount+ Essential Plan (the subscription with ads, but without the Showtime add-on) will increase in price by $1, going up from $4.99 to $5.99 per month.
Paramount+ With Showtime will launch in the U.S. on June 27, per Variety. After being absorbed into Paramount+, the standalone Showtime app will continue to run until shutting down for good at the end of 2023. An exact date has not yet been announced.
The Showtime channel will also undergo a rebranding through this merge. The linear pay-TV channel will be renamed Paramount+ With Showtime around the same time the standalone app shuts down. Through this, Paramount Global hopes to “deliver a distinguished premium service with hit originals across linear and streaming – the first to truly integrate streaming and linear content this way.”
With the rebranding, Paramount+ originals could air on the linear channel, opening the viewership doors to audiences who may not subscribe to the streaming service.
“This summer, Paramount+ will officially become the streaming home for Showtime, further advancing our lead in being the total household service,” Tom Ryan, president and CEO of Paramount Streaming, said in a statement. “By integrating the Showtime premium and critically acclaimed portfolio with the service’s already broad and popular slate, all at a competitive price, we will solidify Paramount+ as a cornerstone in streaming.”
“From Yellowjackets to Your Honor, Showtime is home to big, premium, sophisticated series which will now be complemented with broad, blockbuster originals and movies in the alignment of Paramount+ With Showtime,” Chris McCarthy, president and CEO, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios & Paramount Media Networks, said. “Together, Paramount+ with Showtime will provide our consumers a much more rewarding experience with our vast set of unique originals and deep library of iconic shows and hit films.”
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