Paramount Plus will begin integrating Showtime content this summer, launching an in-app upgrade that includes access to the pay TV channel’s programming, ViacomCBS — soon to be renamed Paramount — announced during its Tuesday investor event.
“So let’s talk about how we’re helping subscribers access even more of our amazing streaming services, right there in the Paramount Plus app,” Tom Ryan, president and chief executive officer of streaming at ViacomCBS, said during the virtual presentation, which covered the company’s fourth-quarter 2021 results and forward-looking goals for this year. “Our existing bundle, of Paramount Plus and Showtime, has performed very well out of the gate. That’s because users can access two premium content offerings, with streamlined sign-up, but viewed in distinct apps. Starting this summer, we’re making Showtime even easier to access in one app experience.”
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Ryan noted that the Showtime OTT platform will still be available to customers separately “if that’s your preference,” meaning you can subscriber to just Showtime or you can still purchase the Showtime-Paramount Plus bundle outside of the Paramount Plus app — but via Paramount Plus, “it will be seamless to sign up for Showtime, and easier than ever to discover great shows.”
“You’ll be able to simply upgrade your Paramount Plus subscription to a bundle that includes the Showtime service and then view all that content in a single user experience,” he said. “And then, when you’re done watching ‘Mayor of Kingstown,’ you’ll be able to move immediately to the next season of ‘Billions’ –- without ever leaving the Paramount Plus app.”
The pricing for the bundle of the Paramount Plus Essential tier and the Showtime service is $11.99, which increases to $14.99 for the bundle of the ad-free Paramount Plus Premium tier and the Showtime service.
On Tuesday, ViacomCBS reported it had reached more than 56 million global subscribers combined between Paramount Plus and Showtime by the end of 2021, with approximately 80% of those — 7.3 million — coming strictly from Paramount Plus. By the close of Q4, Paramount Plus’s total subscribers reached 32.8 million.
Per the company, it now expects to reach 100 million subscribers across both platforms by 2024, up from its previous estimate of between 65-75 million by then.