Nearly a year after ViacomCBS rebranded to Paramount, the company decided to further streamline its service portfolio and will be fully integrating Showtime into Paramount+ — which was previously known as CBS All Access.
The integration will include both streaming and linear platforms, and Paramount+ will now be known as “Paramount+ with Showtime” and the same will “happen” to Showtime’s linear TV network in the U.S.
Beyond streaming, the move will also aid the linear Showtime network, with select Paramount+ original programs coming to the TV network — helping attract more linear customers as well.
The changes will roll out later this year and will involve only the premium tiers at Paramount+. This end result will be a service that combines on-demand content with linear channels, live news and sports.
The consolidation of this sort was bound to happen, given the fact that Paramount is facing the tough market out there and that it has to beef-up its content offering in order to stay relevant — and more importantly in order to entice new users to subscribe for the service. There are so many choices out there and most of us have a limited amount of cash that we are willing to spend on movies and TV shows.
Showtime includes content that tends to have more mature themes and is thus appealing more to a certain demographic beyond the general market Paramount+ targets. Both services would benefit from a combined user base and the ability to cross-promote titles.
“This new combined offering demonstrates how we can leverage our entire collection of content to drive deeper connections with consumers and greater value for our distribution partners,” Paramount CEO Bob Bakish wrote in a memo to employees. “This change will also drive stronger alignment across our domestic and international Paramount+ offerings, as international Paramount+ already includes Showtime content. And, very importantly, this integration will unlock operational efficiencies and financial benefits across our broader portfolio.”
The company added that other changes to programming may be included with this transition. For instance, in order to focus on building franchises out of Showtime’s hit shows, Paramount will divert investment from underperforming areas that “account for less than 10% of our views.” Nothing specific has been shared and we’ll likely be hearing something about canceled shows in the weeks and months to come.
Showtime originally launched its over-the-top streaming service in 2015, but it is not as popular as Paramount+ — which makes up the bulk of the company’s direct-to-consumer subscriber base. The streaming service reported 46 million subscribers in Q3 2022. On the group level, Paramount has almost 67 million global subscribers across Paramount+, Pluto TV, Showtime, Noggin and BET+.
The service is now available in many countries in the world, but not everywhere. Paramount+ can be used with a good VPN that can erase all kinds of borders and restrictions that stand in your way of accessing any service. We have prepared a special page with Best VPNs for Paramount+, which we advise you to check out. All services on that list have been tested for years and will also have your back in other situations, as well.