What’s the ad experience like on Paramount+
What’s the ad experience like on Paramount+
Paramount+ didn’t exactly shine in terms of its ad experience during my test of the streamer.
Paramount+ isn’t exactly in the bargain basement of streaming any longer. At $8 per month for ad-supported streaming, it’s firmly in the neighborhood of larger streamers like Netflix and Disney+ as far as monthly price goes. It already seems like a long time since you could get an ad-supported Paramount+ account for closer to $5 monthly.
The price of Paramount+ has gone up, but how is the ad experience for those trying to save money by streaming with commercials? I signed up for an ad-supported Paramount+ account to try it out and I was not all that thrilled with my experience.
What’s the ad experience like on Paramount+?
What’s the ad experience for original shows on Paramount+?
As I always do in these articles, I tested a half-hour and an hour-long original series on Paramount+ to see what the ad experience on the streamer is like. I picked “Mike Judge's Beavis and Butthead” as my 30-minute title, and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” as my hourlong show.
Each series was preceded by a pre-roll ad break of a minute each. “Beavis and Butthead” paused three times during the episode, with ad breaks of 60 to 90 seconds each. It added up to four or five minutes per half-hour episode of commercials, and that length nearly doubled during my stream of “Strange New Worlds.” It stopped five times during playback, with ad breaks the same 60 to 90 seconds in length.
What’s the ad experience for licensed shows on Paramount+?
Paramount+ doesn’t have the same inventory of purely “licensed” titles as other streamers, since its catalog is so packed with legacy shows from CBS and Viacom. For the purposes of this exercise, I tried episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” to test an hourlong show, and the original “Frasier” for a half-hour series.
Say this for Paramount+, the experience was consistent. I saw around five minutes of ads per “Frasier” episode, interspersed in three breaks of 60 to 90 seconds each. Breaks were the same duration during “Star Trek,” but there were more of them per episode — five to six — leading to around seven or eight minutes of ads per hour of playback.
What’s the ad experience like for original movies on Paramount+?
Staying on theme for my Paramount+ original movie, I chose “Star Trek: Section 31.” Here, the ad experience was quite different than that I saw on Paramount+ TV shows. Instead of mid-playback ad breaks, I saw one long break of around three minutes in length ahead of the movie starting. It’s possible that other movies have different ad experiences that show commercials throughout the movie’s playback, but I didn’t see that while testing the platform.
What’s the ad experience on licensed Paramount+ movies?
I picked “Forrest Gump” for this experiment, which is another movie produced by Paramount but definitely not a Paramount original. I experienced the same commercial style in this movie that I did during “Section 31”; namely, “Forrest Gump” showed me one long pre-playback ad break and then no further ads for the rest of the movie.
Are there pause ads on Paramount+?
Yes, indeed there are. When I paused a “Star Trek” title, for example, Paramount+ pulled up a QR code that I could scan to be taken to the Star Trek merchandise store, complete with a promo code for 20% off whatever I wanted to buy. Viewers can expect to see similar pause ads on Paramount+.
Does Paramount+ have commercials during kids shows?
Yes. Older kids’ shows like “SpongeBob SquarePants” came with pre-roll ads and one long ad break in the middle of the episode. “Paw Patrol” episodes didn’t have ads, leading me to the conclusion that commercials don’t air on content for younger kids.
Final thoughts
I was disappointed with the overall ad experience on Paramount+. I expected to see far fewer ads during playback than I actually saw while watching TV on the streamer, though the experience while watching movies was more convenient than some other services since all the ads I saw were before the start of the film.
I saw a decent variety of ads while watching, and at least there were no commercials for younger kids’ content. Nevertheless, there were more commercials than expected with the streamer overall, and if you can spring for the ad-free plan for $13 per month, I highly recommend it. The only ads you’ll see there are for other Paramount+ titles, and only before the show or movie starts.
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.