(Credit: Joe Hindy / PCMag)
The parade of streaming service rate hikes isn't over yet. Paramount+ is raising the price of two of its plans, though some existing customers can avoid paying more.
The Paramount+ Essential plan will increase $2 from $5.99 to $7.99 per month, while the more premium Paramount+ with Showtime will be $12.99 per month, an increase of $1. Those rates go into effect for new customers on Aug. 20, CNBC reports.
For existing customers, the Paramount+ with Showtime price increase takes effect on or around Sept. 20. But those with a Paramount+ Essential plan or an annual plan won't see a price hike.
Those with the legacy Paramount+ Limited Commercial plan will now pay $7.99 per month, a $1 increase, Variety reports.
The streaming service has spent the last year cleaning up its plans after its merging with Showtime. At the time, Paramount+ Premium with Showtime was $15.99 but saw a price decrease as everyone migrated to the newer plans. Showtime shut down its standalone app in April 2024.
Paramount+ is the latest streaming service to hike prices. Max, the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max, increased its prices in June. Amazon Prime Video also rolled out ads in early 2024 and asked for an additional $2.99 to get rid of them. Hulu increased its price by $3.99 per month for the ad-free tier in late 2023 while Netflix, Apple TV+, Disney+, Peacock, and Crunchyroll have also increased prices over the last year.
The Paramount+ price hike comes two weeks after Paramount Global Chairwoman Shari Redstone rejected an offer to purchase Paramount+ from a consortium led by Skydance and Redbird Capital.