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This might sound familiar: Paramount Plus is getting ready to raise its subscription prices for new sign-ups in August and existing customers in September. The streamer had already got more expensive last year following the arrival of the Showtime bundle so seeing another price hike announced so soon is a real blow.
The good news is that even with the planned bump in costs, Paramount Plus with Showtime is still cheaper than the ad-free plans of Netflix, Disney Plus and Max, which is notable given that WBD's streamer recently shocked with an immediate subscription increase earlier this month.
The price rise will see the Paramount Plus Essential plan (with ads) increase by $2 to $7.99 a month, the (ad-free) Paramount Plus with Showtime will go up by $1 to $12.99 per month and the existing Paramount Plus Limited Commercial offer by $1 to $7.99 a month for all new sign-ups on August 20. The new prices will hit existing subscribers a month later on September 20. We have contacted Paramount Plus to see whether the increase applies to global markets and will update this article when we hear back.
In comparison to Paramount Plus' price hike, the equivalent ad-free plan for Max costs $16.99 per month, $13.99 a month for Disney Plus and $15.49 a month at Netflix.
But it's worth keeping in mind that the number of best Paramount Plus movies and best Paramount Plus shows is a lot smaller when compared to rival streamers. Even Peacock's relatively small library is still more expensive to stream ad-free after its own recent price hike to $13.99.
Why is Paramount Plus getting more expensive?
It all has to do with costs. Paramount Global has been looking to streamline its business for some time now: it first considered joining forces with WBD's Max in late 2023, but negotiations fell through by February this year only to be picked back up again by Skydance Media. Peacock's owner Comcast then threw its hat in the ring, which was later joined by Sony in April.
The failed merger and buyer talks are just another sign of the tightly strapped pockets of entertainment companies and the cost challenges they're facing. Of course, Paramount is not alone in raising prices but how long will it be till it deploys other cost-saving measures that we've come to recognise, like the increasing rollout of more ads and password sharing crackdowns?