Paramount+ with Showtime to Launch June 27; How Will This Combined Service Compare to Max?

Considering the two sides are in a nasty legal fight over the streaming rights to “South Park,” it would be understandable for Paramount Global to try and steal a little of Warner Bros. Discovery’s thunder. That may be the reason why Paramount decided to wait until the day before WBD launched its new streamer Max to announce the launch of its Paramount+ with Showtime streaming tier will occur on Tuesday, June 27.

The new offering will, as the name suggests, integrate Paramount’s Showtime family of premium cable networks and its subscription video streaming platform SHOWTIME with its flagship streaming service. Paramount Global first announced the integration in January, partly in order to streamline its direct-to-consumer offerings and help bring streaming costs down.

Since Max and Paramount+ with Showtime are launching just about one month apart, a comparison of the two services seems appropriate. After all, the two platforms are some of the first major streamers to actually start aggregating their streaming services together, which is a trend customers are hoping will continue.

To start with, Paramount+ with Showtime isn’t exactly going to be a whole new service. Instead, it will be the new name for the platform’s Premium tier. The existing ad-free option that only includes the traditional Paramount+ lineup of shows and movies will no longer be available on June 27. In its place will be a plan that brings together what was already available on the service and the Showtime content.

How do Paramount+ with Showtime and Max compare in terms of price?

Despite the addition of the new premium programming, Paramount+ with Showtime has Max beat on price. After a price increase that will coincide with the launch of Paramount+ with Showtime, the service will cost $11.99 per month. That cost includes ad-free streaming of both the Paramount+ and Showtime libraries, plus a 24/7 livestream of local CBS affiliates. That’s still less than the cost of ad-free streaming on Max, which costs $15.99 and doesn’t include any livestreams of any linear TV channels.

Ad-supported streaming users on Paramount+ will also see a price increase, but it’s a pretty reasonable one at $1 extra per month. That will bring the Paramount+ Essential tier to $5.99 per month, which is cheaper than Max’s ad-supported tier which runs $9.99 monthly. The difference between these tiers is content, however; Max’s ad-supported plan still comes with all the new content brought over from discovery+, while Paramount+ Essential will not offer the Showtime library.

Does Paramount+ with Showtime or Max Have the edge when it comes to prestige TV?

It’s prestige TV where Max really shines. With shows like “House of the Dragon” and “The White Lotus” to keep viewers coming back, Max has some truly powerful franchises at its disposal, before even getting into properties like “Harry Potter,” DC Comics, “Lord of the Rings” and others. Showtime has series like “Yellowjackets” and “Your Honor” to hang its hat on, which are still quality titles. Even so, it’s hard to stack the content libraries of the two services against each other and not give the edge to Max in terms of prestige TV.

Does Max or Paramount+ with Showtime offer better TV and movie franchises?

One area where both services are pursuing a similar strategy is franchises. Paramount is doubling down on its most popular properties, promising to develop new shows based on series like “Billions” and “Dexter,” as well as more content from superstar writer, director, and producer Taylor Sheridan. Additionally, Paramount+ is where you can find Star Trek, Mission: Impossible‎, Transformers, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Top Gun franchises, just to mention a few.

WBD is also looking to its most popular brands for more content, and executives have pounded the table to get more content out of them. Max will eventually house a brand-new “Harry Potter” TV series, as well as more content from DC and new “Game of Thrones” spin-offs.

Aggregation of streaming services is good for customers, so long as the streaming marketplace remains sufficiently competitive. It allows users to access bigger content libraries for a (presumably) lower, bundled price. WBD and Paramount are some of the first companies to bring combined streamers to the market, and though they have some definite differences, they’ll both fill important needs for streaming customers.