Paramount+ Prices To Rise For Most Tiers Starting In August

Paramount Global has announced price increases for Paramount+ tiers with and without Showtime to take effect August 20, although the essential plan hike will only impact new subscribers.

The company said the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan will increase by $1 to $12.99 per month for both existing and new customers, while the cost of the Paramount+ Essential plan will rise by $2 to $7.99 per month for all new subscribers.  

The Paramount+ Limited Commercial Plan will also increase by $1 to $7.99 for current subscribers. 

The new pricing will be effective for all new Paramount+ customers and for existing Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers with their next billing date on or after September 20.

Existing monthly subscribers to Paramount+ Essential will continue their subscription at the current price of $5.99 and pricing of both annual subscription plans will remain unchanged. 

The streamer touted its offering, including live sports, breaking news and originals, including series Mayor of Kingstown, The Chi, Lawmen: Bass Reeves, Knuckles, Fellow Travelers, Yellowjackets and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, as well as blockbuster hits such as Bob Marley: One Love, Mean Girls, Top Gun: Maverick, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

This fall will see the return of the NFL on CBS and originals Landman, Tulsa King, Dexter: Original Sin, School Spirits, Frasier and Lioness. 

There’s been a drumbeat of price hikes over the past year, and especially this summer. Streamers were priced pretty low to start in a bid to attract subscribers but financial chaos followed as media companies overspent on content, racking up steep losses. It’s still not clear when Paramount+ will pull into the black. Max raised prices aheads of the House Of The Dragon second season debut, and Peacock with the Summer Olympics in Paris next month.

Even with the hikes, Paramount’s ad-free tier, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, is cheaper than Peacock, Max, Disney+, Netflix and Hulu, and its ad-supported plan is on par or less than others.