With plans starting at $4.99 per month, Paramount Plus aims to offer “a mountain of entertainment,” including access to 30,000+ hours of TV shows and movies from CBS, Paramount, and affiliated brands.
Keep reading to discover everything you need to know about Paramount Plus and whether or not the subscription is worth it.
What is Paramount Plus?
Paramount Plus is a streaming service originally launched as CBS All Access.
In March 2021, CBS All Access was rebranded and redesigned into Paramount Plus. The name comes from the platform’s parent company, Paramount (previously known as ViacomCBS).
Today, Paramount Plus features more than just CBS TV shows and old movies; instead, the platform is investing in its own programming – similar to Netflix, Amazon, and Disney Plus.
Although Paramount Plus is one of the newest streaming services available today, it seeks to differentiate itself with cheap prices and unique programming – including everything from the Yellowstone spin-off 1883 to live streaming NFL games.
Paramount Plus offers several perks compared to other streaming services, including:
- Affordable pricing ($5 per month or $10 per month for ad-free)
- Extensive selection of new and original TV shows and movies
- Access to live sports, including NFL on CBS, March Madness, The Masters and other PGA events, and UEFA
- Access to Paramount’s library of classic TV shows and movies, ranging from century-old movies to modern classics
- Live TV streaming
- Strong picture quality
Downsides of Paramount Plus
- Downsides of Paramount Plus include:
- Does not include several of CBS and Paramount’s biggest shows, including Yellowstone, Two And A Half Men, or The Big Bang Theory
- Some minor complaints about glitchy apps and playback issues
- Commercials, even with Premium subscriptions
Paramount Plus Pricing
Paramount Plus is priced at $4.99 to $9.99 per month when paying month-to-month or $49.99 to $99.99 per year when paid annually, based on your subscription plan.
Essential ($4.99 Per Month / $49.99 Per Year)
- Streams play advertisements
- Does not include live local CBS station feed
- Provides access to the NFL on CBS and UEFA Champions League
Premium ($9.99 Per Month / $99.99 Per Year)
- Includes access to all sports and live TV channels
- Access to live local CBS station feed
- Mostly advertisement-free (commercials play on live feeds and some shows have promotional interruptions for other Paramount Plus programming)
Paramount Plus also offers a 7-day trial for both plans, allowing you to try the streaming service before you buy.
You can also buy a Showtime bundle from Paramount Plus, which adds Showtime programming to your subscription. Adding Showtime increases the price to $11.99 per month for Essential (or $119.99 per year) or $14.99 per month for Premium (or $149.99 per year).
Students receive a 25% discount on all Paramount Plus subscriptions.
Paramount Plus TV Shows
Paramount Plus has a range of TV shows across the CBS universe and subsidiary brands.
You can sort through TV shows based on categories like originals, dramas, sports, comedies, reality, daytime, primetime, late night, kids, classics, docuseries, specials, and news. There’s even a Star Trek category – similar to how Disney Plus offers Star Wars and Marvel categories.
Notable TV shows on Paramount Plus include reality TV shows like Survivor, Big Brother, Teen Mom, and RuPaul’s Drag Race.
You also get some of CBS’s best-known TV shows, including NCIS, Criminal Minds, CSI, Young Sheldon, and Blue Bloods.
Note: Because of deals with Peacock and HBO, certain popular CBS shows aren’t available on Paramount Plus. The streaming service doesn’t have Two And A Half Men, for example, which is available on Peacock. You’ll also need to subscribe to HBO Max to watch The Big Bang Theory.
Star Trek fans can use Paramount Plus to watch all Star Trek series and affiliated series, including the Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. You can also watch the new Paramount Plus original Star Trek series, including Discovery, Picard, Prodigy, and Lower Decks.
If you’re a fan of Yellowstone spin-offs, then Paramount Plus may be the right streaming service for you. Yellowstone is the Paramount Network’s hit cable series, and the company has already launched a spin-off called 1883. Two more spin-offs, including 6666 and 1932, are scheduled to launch soon.
Note: Because of a deal with Peacock, Yellowstone itself is not on Paramount Plus. 1883, 6666, and 1932 are on Paramount Plus or will be in the future. However, Yellowstone remains on Peacock because of a deal made years ago. Yellowstone will be a cornerstone part of your Paramount Plus subscription as soon as that deal ends.
Notable Paramount TV brands include CBS, BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, and the Smithsonian Channel, among others, so you can find programming from these channels.
If you’re a fan of classic TV shows, then you’ll find plenty of options on Paramount Plus. The on-demand library includes access to I Love Lucy and the original Star Trek (and all other Star Trek series), among other perks.
Some of Paramount Plus’s original shows have found a following. 1883, the Yellowstone spin-off mentioned above, may be the streaming service’s most popular original. There’s also The Good Fight, Real World (a reboot of iCarly), and Stephen King’s The Stand, all of which have attracted fans.
Other notable originals on Paramount Plus include Halo (which has already been renewed for a second season), Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, a Transformers animated series, and a Knuckles series from the Sonic universe featuring Idris Elba.
Paramount Plus Movies
Paramount Plus offers an extensive selection of movies from across multiple genres. Like any other streaming service, you can choose from movies like action, comedy, documentaries, drama, horror, kids/family, thriller, and westerns.
Paramount Plus features access to an extensive backlog of movies from Paramount, including well-known movies like The Wolf of Wall Street, The Avengers, Almost Famous, Interstellar, The French Connection, A Quiet Place, The Godfather series, Stand By Me, The Switch, and Clue. You can also find a surprisingly extensive collection of classic movies, including some movies that are nearly a century old.
Paramount Plus has also launched original movies on the platform. So far, Paramount Plus has launched two South Park specials, a supernatural teen romance called The In Between, and a continuation of the horror movie franchise Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin.
Paramount Plus does have big movie plans for the future, however. Paramount will use the platform to stream some of its major movies, including Mission: Impossible 7, A Quiet Place Part III, and other major releases.
Other big movies coming to Paramount Plus after airing in theaters include Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Babylon, and the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie with Seth Rogen.
Paramount Plus has also announced plans to release three new SpongeBob SquarePants movies, a movie dedicated to villains of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe, and a reboot of MTV’s Teen Wolf.
Paramount Plus Live Sports
Paramount Plus aims to distinguish itself from other streaming services with access to live streaming sports.
Paramount Plus aims to stream over 1,000 live sporting events yearly, offering on-demand sports coverage and live sports news broadcasts.
Available live streaming sports on Paramount Plus include the NFL, PGA golf, and men’s college basketball. You also get extensive soccer coverage, including matches from the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Serie A, and CONCACAF Qualifiers.
You can also access sports-related programming, including the popular Inside the NFL series.
Soccer fans are some of Paramount Plus’s biggest subscribers because Paramount Plus is the only place to watch English-language coverage of all UEFA matches.
Subscribers also get access to CBS Sports HQ, which streams sports content 24/7.
For the most access to live sports, you’ll need Premium. Essential includes some major events, including the NFL on CBS. However, if you want to watch The Masters, March Madness, SEC games, PGA Tour events, and Combate Global MMA, then you’ll need the Premium plan.
Paramount Plus Interface
Paramount Plus’s interface will immediately be familiar to anyone who has used any streaming service. It’s similar to Netflix, Disney Plus, and other major streaming platforms, although with some changes and improvements.
The top of the interface is dominated by featured content from Paramount brands, including any recent movies or TV shows Paramount wants to highlight.
You can scroll through movies and TV shows based on genres, popularity, trending items, and more.
The left-hand menu (or right-hand menu on certain devices) features a standard selection of interface options, including Search, Home, Shows, Movies, Live TV, News, and Brands.
Where Paramount Plus distinguishes itself from other streaming services with its Live TV section. It looks like a conventional cable TV grid. You can browse popular channels within the Paramount family, including CBS, CBS News, and ET Live. You can also access live sports. The grid is also filled out with themed channels – similar to what you see on Pluto (which is owned by Paramount) and Roku’s free channels.
One drawback of Paramount Plus’s live TV is that it’s actually live. You cannot rewind, fast forward, pause, or restart a show.
Paramount Plus Supported Devices
You can access Paramount Plus on virtually any internet-connected device, including:
- Web browsers on most computers, phones, tablets, and internet-connected devices
- Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad
- Android phones, tablets, and Android TV
- Chromecast
- Fire TV
- Portal TV
- PlayStation 4
- Samsung, Vizio, and LG TVs
- Roku
- Xbox One, Series S, and Series X
- Xfinity Flex and X1
- Cox Contour Box
- VIDAA TV
- Sky Q (for UK & Ireland) and Sky Glass (for the UK only)
- Fetch and Telstra TV (for Australia only)
- Paramount Plus has dedicated apps on most of the platforms above. The iOS app is available for iOS 12.2+, for example.
Paramount Plus should work on most TVs sold within the last five years. Your Samsung TV may need to be from 2017 or newer, for example, to use the Paramount Plus app, depending on your region.
Final Word: Is Paramount Plus Worth It?
Paramount Plus is a popular streaming service that seeks to compete with the biggest players in the space.
Featuring an impressive catalog of movies from over a century of moviemaking, Paramount Plus offers live TV, unique original TV shows and movies, live streaming sports, and access to an extensive selection of CBS programming, among other perks.
To learn more about Paramount Plus or to subscribe to Paramount Plus today, visit the official website at ParamountPlus.com.
