The feature Paramount+ needs most? A less buggy app
The feature Paramount+ needs most? A less buggy app
As a frequent user of Paramount+ in my living room, I’m constantly struggling to get the app to function properly.
Anyone who has read my work for The Streamable knows how big of a Star Trek fan I am. As such, the Paramount+ app isn’t just a nice-to-have option at my house; it’s a necessity. I’m actually a Paramount+ Premium customer, and I frequently take advantage of that fact to watch a given weekend’s NFL game or a local news broadcast with my subscription as well.
I think there’s actually a lot to like about the Paramount+ app. I appreciate the way the streamer sorts its content, especially in the Collections section, which makes it easier to browse Star Trek titles or the works of Taylor Sheridan on the service. The Live TV tab is also a convenient feature, but if there’s one thing Paramount+ can do a lot better, it’s working to debug its connected TV app to make the watching experience a little more fun.
I can count on two hands the number of recent experiences I’ve had with the Paramount+ app where I didn’t encounter a problem of some sort. Most of the time, these manifest as something small, such as an episode failing to load the first time and having to be restarted.
Occasionally, however, I find myself having to exit the Paramount+ app to start my watching experience over again when the app gets too overwhelmed. This is a particular issue when watching live TV; even on my newest Fire TV purchased in 2025, I cannot get the kind of reliable functionality I think would be ideal when using the Paramount+ app in my living room.
There is room to hope that improvements along this line are coming. New Paramount CEO David Ellison has been discussing the need to update the Paramount+ app since before he was installed in the role. Now that he has a chance to carry out those changes, it is hoped that Ellison will introduce the tech updates to the app that he has had an eye on for so many months.
As far as features go, I think the Paramount+ app more or less has what it needs to make customers happy. Viewers can easily navigate to live content such as sports on the Paramount+ app, which will be a major plus when the streamer begins hosting UFC fights in 2026. But when that happens, it had better be sure that its connected TV app can handle the increase in traffic. Otherwise, I won’t be the only one clamoring for Paramount+ to smooth out the bugs on its app in the very near future.
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. Get free access with a Walmart+ subscription.
Paramount+ includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, 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.