UPDATE 5/23: Paramount+ with Showtime will launch on June 27, VarietyVariety reports. The ad-free version will cost $11.99 per month, similar to an existing bundle. (The standalone Paramount+ service currently costs $9.99 per month, while Showtime is $10.99 per month.) You'll also have access to a Paramount plan without Showtime for $5.99 per month (up from $4.99). By year's end, Paramount Global will shut down the Showtime app and move everyone to Paramount+.
Under a unified Paramount+ With Showtime, subscribers can access popular franchises like NCIS, PAW Patrol, Star Trek, SpongeBob SquarePants, and RuPaul's Drag Race; fan favorites Yellowjackets, Billions, and The First Lady; non-fiction projects Couples Therapy and We Need to Talk About Cosby; and films such as Top Gun and Scream. Paramount+ also comes with live-event and sports broadcasts, including the NFL and UEFA Champions League.
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Paramount Global is going to merge Paramount+ and Showtime later this year and rebrand it as Paramount+ with Showtime.
As The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood Reporter reports, Paramount CEO Bob Bakish announced the merger in a memo to staff yesterday. The plan involves "fully integrating Showtime into Paramount+ across both streaming and linear platforms later this year." All Showtime content will be available on Paramount+ Premium, and some Paramount+ originals will be made available as part of the Showtime linear offering.
The rebranding will see both the Paramount+ streaming service and the Showtime linear network carry the same new name of Paramount+ with Showtime. It's unclear when exactly the merger will happen this year and what it will mean for pricing. Currently it's possible to subscribe to Paramount+ Essential and Showtime for $11.99 per month, or Paramount+ Premium and Showtime for $14.99 per month.
Bakish explains in the memo that the merger allows for "operational efficiencies and financial benefits," but that it "brings uncertainty for the teams working on these brands and businesses." In other words, there's probably going to be some job losses, which Bakish has promised to share more details about in the coming weeks.
For now, anyone who subscribes to Showtime and/or Paramount+ should simply wait and see what happens. It's possible you could end up with a lot more content to watch later this year without your subscription changing beyond having a new name.
This spring, meanwhile, HBO Max and Discovery+ will also become a single platform as part of the 2021 merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery—now known as Warner Bros. Discovery