Showtime Cable Channel Is Now Officially Paramount+ With Showtime, But What Does That Actually Mean?
There is some level of content reciprocity between the two versions of Paramount+ With Showtime, but the whole thing is just confusing.
Nearly one year ago, when Paramount Global announced that it would be rebranding its iconic premium cable network Showtime as “Paramount+ With Showtime,” it drew a lot of confusion from customers and people in and around the industry. The first step in this transformation came when the company renamed the premium, ad-free tier on its flagship streaming service Paramount+ with the Paramount+ With Showtime moniker back in June 2023. As of Monday, Jan. 8, Paramount has now officially made the move on the cable side as well, making things even more confusing than they already were.
- As of Monday, both the ad-free streaming tier and premium cable channel are known as Paramount+ With Showtime.
- Streaming subscribers have access to the linear channels, but linear subscribers will not automatically have access to the streaming service.
- The cable version of Paramount+ With Showtime will also now provide access to series that had previously bee Paramount+ exclusives.
Last month, Paramount promised that the cable channel rebrand would be coming this week, just the latest in a long line of changes that the entertainment conglomerate is making to what was once one of the cornerstones of the premium cable ecosystem. In early 2023, CEO Bob Bakish and Chris McCarthy, the Paramount executive who oversees Showtime, announced that the channel would be transitioning away from the types of shows that had made it a prestige staple for decades. Instead of developing new and innovative series like “Queer as Folk,” “Dead Like Me,” “Homeland,” “Shameless,” and more, the channel was going to double down on its existing intellectual property like “Billions” and “Dexter,” expanding their respective cinematic universes with prequels, sequels, and spinoffs.
The goal is to replicate Paramount+’s success with franchises as shown by Taylor Sheridan’s expansive slate of shows for the streamer and the Paramount Network.
But a new programming strategy isn’t the only change surrounding the Showtime brand. In October, the channel’s on-demand streaming service kicked off the brand’s journey towards extinction as Paramount no longer allowed customers to sign up for the standalone streamer. The erstwhile Showtime content is now only available on-demand via the Paramount+ With Showtime tier, which costs $11.99 per month.
Watch the Paramount+ With Showtime Teaser Video:
Wait, So Both the Streaming Tier and Cable Channel Are Called Paramount+ With Showtime Now?
As if the proliferation of streaming services wasn’t confusing enough already, Paramount Global is insisting on calling its now-rebranded premium cable channel by the same name as the premium, ad-free tier on its streaming service. While there will be a free flow of content between the dueling Paramount+ With Showtimes, they are different things.
While it takes some scrolling, you can watch multiple versions of the linear channel on the Paramount+ app. However, if you subscribe to the premium cable channel via a cable, satellite, or live TV streaming service, you do not automatically receive access to the streaming service for on-demand viewing. Instead, you will need to log into your TV provider’s website or app — or another TV Everywhere authenticated app — to stream titles. However, this could change as Paramount expands deals with pay-TV companies to include the streaming service in subscriptions, similar to what Disney arranged with Spectrum last year.
So, the question is why are they both being called the same things? And if Showtime as a standalone entity no longer exists, then what exactly is Paramount+ with?
“The move aligns the brand with the Paramount+ With Showtime plan,” the company said in a statement, “a cornerstone integration for the streaming service, making this the first of its kind multiplatform brand that integrates streaming and linear content.”
I’m not sure this statement does much to clarify anything, but that’s Paramount’s story and they’re sticking to it.
Currently, the Paramount+ With Showtime tier via the streaming service runs $11.99 per month. On most TV providers, the cost for the linear version will go up by a dollar each month to equal that total starting on Thursday. So, given the limitations around streaming via a linear subscription, unless you have a discounted rate for the foreseeable future, it would seem like a good idea to opt for the option via Paramount+.
So What Types of Shows Will Air on the Cable Channel Formerly Known as Showtime?
Currently, the network hitherto known as Showtime has a relatively buzzy hit on its hands with “The Curse,” which earned Emma Stone a Golden Globe nomination. The show is a domestic thriller shrouded in social satire wrapped up in a black comedy. It is a daring experiment for a prestige cable channel to air a show that has so much cringe baked into its premise that it inherently risks alienating large swaths of the audience.
It seems unlikely that developing new shows in this vein will be a significant part of Paramount+ With Showtime’s strategy moving forward, as the plan is to bank on the familiar popularity of established properties. The company has already indicated that it will expand its most popular programs into full franchises; “Billions” is reportedly getting spinoffs entitled “Millions” and “Trillions” — no, seriously. In addition, the linear channel will also see a crop of previously Paramount+ exclusive programs join the schedule.
Linear subscribers will be able to watch the new series “Sexy Beast” when it premieres later this month, the first and upcoming second seasons of “Halo,” the first two seasons of Sheridan’s “Mayor of Kingstown” Seasons 1-2, “Star Trek: Discovery” Seasons 1-4, and the first season of “Wolf Pack.”
These Paramount+ originals will join new shows joining the schedule on cable, including the forthcoming third season of “Yellowjackets,” the United States premiere of BBC drama “The Woman in the Wall,” this year’s adaptation of best-selling novel “A Gentleman in Moscow,” and the George Clooney directed and produced thriller series “The Department.”
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.