Showtime to Be Rebranded ‘Paramount+ with Showtime,’ Added to Paramount+ Premium Tier
It’s been a long time coming, but later this year, Paramount Global will finally fully integrate the streaming arm of its premium cable channel Showtime into its flagship streaming service Paramount+. To mark the occasion, the company will be rebranding both the ad-free pricing tier of Paramount+ and the iconic cable network under a single name, “Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.”
This newly unified offering is intended to bring all of the company’s most popular shows and movies under the same umbrella in order to highlight the breadth and depth of their libraries. As a result, a Paramount spokesperson has confirmed to The Streamable that while there will be no changes to the linear distribution of Showtime programming, but the existing SHOWTIME streaming platform will be sunset later this year.
Since rebranding as Paramount Global early last year, the company has prided itself on being a multiplatform, global content company, and this will further allow the it to prove that.
“This new combined offering demonstrates how we can leverage our entire collection of content to drive deeper connections with consumers and greater value for our distribution partners,” Paramount CEO Bob Bakish told company employees in a memo. “This change will also drive stronger alignment across our domestic and international Paramount+ offerings, as international Paramount+ already includes Showtime content. And, very importantly, this integration will unlock operational efficiencies and financial benefits across our broader portfolio.”
While housing all of the company’s most popular IP in a single streaming experience will help customers, it also has a benefit for the company as well. This move will more closely align Paramount’s domestic streaming operation with how the company operates internationally, where SHOWTIME programming is often already a part of the larger Paramount+ platform. Also, by unifying some of the operations of the two disparate streaming services, Paramount will be able to achieve a number of administrative and technological cost savings, making the business side of content creation more profitable.
However, as media companies have been going through high-profile layoffs recently, Bakish vowed to be transparent with any changes to come related to this integration.
“While we are confident this is the right move for our company, our consumers, and our partners,” he said, “we know this change brings uncertainty for the teams working on these brands and businesses. We are committed to being as transparent and thoughtful as possible throughout this process, and we expect to share additional details in the coming weeks.”
Paramount did confirm that the move will not impact the existing ad-supported Essentials plan but was unable to shed any light on whether or not customers who are not interested in SHOWTIME programming will be able to subscribe exclusively to the Premium tier on its own.
One of the benefits that combining the services has is that it makes the streaming experience better for consumers, eliminating the pain points of either having to switch between services or navigate to a different portion of the app. Tom Ryan, Paramount’s president and CEO of streaming, believes that these types of changes — in addition to yet-to-be-announced enhancements — will make viewing Paramount content better across the board.
“By further integrating SHOWTIME into Paramount+, we will now be able to deliver a seamless, fully integrated multiplatform premium service to our consumers with more of the original, culture-shaping content they love,” Ryan said. “This enhanced offering serves our audiences and our creative partners – with an even greater ability to scale our franchises and build hits across the Paramount+ universe in linear and streaming.”
Bakish confirmed that Chris McCarthy will continue to run Showtime’s studios and oversee network operations. McCarthy told employees on Monday that the move makes Paramount+ a more robust platform, with the premium cable content appealing to a different demographic of viewers than are normally engaging with the streamer.
“The SHOWTIME brand has always attracted audiences who prefer content that has more edge and more mature themes, and that focuses on complicated characters and layered worlds,” he said. “SHOWTIME content appeals to metro-minded viewers who are more culturally diverse with a higher concentration living in cities vs. the population at large. These audiences and themes are complementary to the Paramount+ brand, which is much broader, appealing to the entire family and general market audiences across the country.”
Current Paramount+ and Showtime Pricing
| Essential | Premium | Essential + Showtime | Premium + Showtime |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5.99 / month | $11.99 / month | $11.99 / month | $11.99 / month |
| Just Paramount+ | Just Paramount+ | Paramount+ and Showtime | Paramount+ and Showtime |
| Has ads | No ads except live TV | Paramount+ shows have ads | No ads except live TV |
| No downloads | Downloads available | No downloads | Downloads available |
| Includes NFL and soccer like Champions League live | Adds more sports | Includes NFL and soccer like Champions League live | Adds more sports |
| Watch local CBS live | Watch local CBS live |
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and more. The lineup includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.