Paramount Global plans to merge its Showtime streaming service with Paramount+'s ad-free tier later in 2023 and call the new offering Paramount+ with SHOWTIME
It's been a long time coming, but later this year, Paramount Global will finally fully integrate the streaming arm …
The StreamableMatt Tamanini
Context & Ripple Effects
Paramount's streaming plan was built around a split offering: an ad-supported Paramount+ service and an ad-free option that was expected to include Showtime. The company formalized the Paramount+ brand in its earlier CBS All Access rebrand and subsequently set distinct ad-supported and ad-free tiers.
The new name completes that earlier planned Showtime-inclusive ad-free package rather than adding another standalone streaming product. It matters because Paramount has continued pursuing streaming independently despite the larger scale of Netflix and Disney.
First-order effects
Paramount Global will consolidate Showtime streaming and Paramount+'s ad-free tier under Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, simplifying its premium direct-to-consumer lineup.
Showtime's standalone streaming identity becomes part of the Paramount+ premium proposition, while Paramount+ retains a separate ad-supported tier.
Second-order effects
Walmart's bundled Paramount+ ad-supported subscription remains a distinct entry point, sharpening the divide between a distribution-led ad tier and Paramount's combined premium service.
Paramount must position the combined service against its own lower-cost ad offering, making bundle cannibalization a more central pricing and packaging concern.
Third-order effects
The move points to streaming services consolidating brands and libraries into fewer tiers, with premium bundles competing on catalog breadth rather than standalone channel identities.
If Paramount continues to route entry-level demand through ad-supported distribution partnerships, its direct premium tier may increasingly serve as the home for consolidated legacy brands.
The trend: Streaming operators are reducing standalone brand complexity by pairing broader premium libraries with separate ad-supported entry tiers.
1) Wild it took this long. HBO + Max acquisition and retention strategy works. The Last of Us gets the attention, but Friends and Big Bang Theory are crucial to extended session time and increased perceived value. 2) No more “this with this” names, pls! https://www.hollywoodrepor…
The first of many dominos to fall. My guess is that 50% of the streaming services that are around now - won't be around two years from now. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Showtime Merging With Paramount+ In Both Streaming, Linear TV - The Hollywood Reporter “...acknowledges ‘uncertainty’ for staff, and company seeks to focus on shows with ‘franchise’ potential.” https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Consolidation among streaming services was always a given. In a fit of Netflix envy, a bunch of studios turned a profit center (licensing shows to streaming services) into a cost center (exclusive shows are customer acquisition costs for subscribers). It was always a bubble. http…
An epidemic of this. I need like a high level degree finance wizard to explain to me how it's more profitable to not sell shit you already bought https://twitter.com/...
Big change afoot in the TV biz. Showtime will merge with Paramount+ in both streaming and linear. Cuts and programming changes will follow. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...