Does the Paramount+ user interface need an upgrade?
Does the Paramount+ user interface need an upgrade?
Paramount+ has long been one of my least-favorite streaming apps because of constant glitches. But is its UI really so bad?
It remains to be seen how well this review will age. Paramount has a new ownership team, after all, and that team has promised to make Paramount+ a more tech-forward platform. There could eventually be large changes to the streaming service, but until then, Paramount+ will essentially remain the same platform it has been for years.
If you’ve read my articles in the past, you may be aware of my many difficulties with the Paramount+ app. But in the name of fairness, I tried to put those issues aside for the purposes of this user interface review. How does Paramount+’s user experience score when ignoring all the technical issues that can crop up while using it?
How does one streaming expert score Paramount+’s user interface?
Does Paramount+ have a good home page?
When I log onto the Paramount+ home page successfully for the first time, there’s a lot about the layout I enjoy. There’s the usual topmost carousel of shows and movies Paramount+ wants you to see first is there, followed by a Your Next Watch row based on your viewing history. This row is conspicuous, but its recommendations are fairly well-attuned to my preferences.
The Keep Watching row is next, checking another box for me in that it’s close to the top of the screen. Another plus about the Paramount+ home screen for me is that when you click a show’s tile, it doesn’t start playback right away, but rather takes you to that title’s details page. An autoplay trailer starts when you’re there, but at least this isn’t a setting on the home screen I have to deactivate.
The Keep Watching row is right near the top of the screen on Paramount+.
As you scroll down, the Paramount+ home screen offers a good mix of rows that offer its greatest hits in the moment, as well as shows and movies that you may like based on your history. I particularly like the Jump Back In row, which shows you titles that you may have started but never finished. With so much content out there, it can be easy to forget a series and get caught up in something else, and the Jump Back carousel is a good way to combat that problem.
Overall, the Paramount+ home screen is a pleasant surprise. Some titles and rows do present autoplay, but not all of them, and the layout of the screen is easy to navigate and well-arranged.
User interface score: 8.5 out of 10
Is content discovery easy on Paramount+?
The search bar is easy to find on Paramount+, placed at the top of the left-hand menu. One trend I noticed as I scrolled down the rows of the Paramount+ home screen is how much it relied on recommendations based on titles I watched. I find this a good thing as a repeat viewer of shows, but it occurred to me that perhaps I wasn’t seeing quite the right balance of newer titles that I hadn’t seen before.
Once you click the Search icon, you’ll see a way to sift through genres like Originals, Kids & Family, and plenty more on Paramount+. While I like the option to narrow things down a bit, I wonder if people will naturally think to find these categories in the search section, or if they’d seek them out in other parts of the interface first. Overall, however, I don’t have a lot of complaints to register with Paramount+’s content discovery.
Content discovery score: 8 out of 10
How easy is it to switch between categories on Paramount+?
Shifting between categories on Paramount+ is pretty easy, thanks to the service’s left-hand menu. It has options for Search, Home, Shows, Movies, Collections, Live TV, Sports, News, and My List. This makes it very simple to narrow down your browsing and jump to the precise type of content you want.
I especially like the Live TV and Sports categories here. Paramount+’s Premium plan has a live stream of CBS available, and both plans have NFL football during the season. Fans are going to want to jump to that programming quickly, and Paramount+ facilitates that without question.
Category switching score: 10 out of 10
How are Paramount+’s playback controls?
We’ll start with the good, or at least the expected. Paramount+’s playback controls have the ability to restart an episode, change subtitle or audio languages, jump ahead or back by 10 seconds, and all the other basic controls.
Next, the bad. There’s no way to skip to the next episode without fast-forwarding all the way to the end of the video, and there’s no way to see other episodes of the show you’re watching through the playback controls. There is, however, an On Now tab under the playback bar, which I think is a profoundly odd choice.
The On Now tab feels out of place in the Paramount+ playback controls.
Instead of showing you other episodes of the show you’re watching and allowing you to browse through those, Paramount+ offers a row that shows you what’s on the live streaming channels that come with your plan — at least, for Premium subscribers. It seems like a strange choice to make, that has very little to do with the on-demand content a viewer is watching. There is a Related tab next to On Now, but that only partially makes up for the oddity of the On Now choice.
Playback controls score: 7 out of 10
Is skipping credits easy on Paramount+?
The skip credits button during the intro of a show comes up automatically, which is obviously the best place to start. Unlike many other streaming services, the button stays active as the credits roll, so there’s no race to find the remote if it isn’t in your hand when the intro starts.
At the end credits, you get the option to either watch the next episode, or actually see the credits roll. You also get a 15-second countdown to make your choice, so again there’s a little time to find the remote if you need it.
Skipping credits score: 10 out of 10
Final thoughts
Scrolling back through the grades for Paramount+, I was surprised how many high scores I gave it. I use the service frequently, and never gave much thought to the actual layout of information — which in hindsight, is a point in its favor. I have very few poor things to say about the interface in and of itself.
But the question of technical issues is still hovering. I entered this exercise with a determination not to let it unduly influence my score, but I also have to factor into my final score the fact that the Paramount+ app crashed twice while I was trying to gather information for this review. I don’t want to detract too many points because of it, but it’s a detail that cannot be overlooked, either.
Final score: 7 out of 10
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.