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Paramount+
$4.99 to $9.99
Pros
- Great Sports Value
- Expansive library of TV shows and movies
- Easy-to-navigate
- Local CBS livestream
- NFL and Soccer Games
Cons
- Small catalogue of originals
- Missing some interface features
- Locals not in every market
Paramount+ Review
Paramount+ is an American-owned global subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by ViacomCBS Streaming, a division of ViacomCBS. The streaming service is formerly known as CBS All Access. Paramount+ launched on March 4, 2021, following the 2019 re-merger of CBS and Viacom.
The Paramount+ streaming service offers TV shows and movies both on-demand and on live TV. On-demand content ranges from shows such as Peppa Pig, Star Trek Discovery, and Mission Impossible from networks such as Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, and more. Live TV on Paramount Plus includes local CBS live affiliate which has news, sports, and entertainment programming.
Paramount+ Information
- Type of Service: OTT video streaming platform
- Price: $4.99/mo. to $9.99/mo
- Free Trial: Yes
- Number of Movies: 650+
- Number of TV Episodes: 30,000+
- Streaming Quality: 720p, 1080p HD, 4K HDR
Paramount+ Packages and Pricing
Paramount Plus has a few different pricing plans for the same streaming service. The pricing packages are broken down into ad-supported vs ad-free and you and choose to either pay per month or annually. The ad-supported plan which is called Essential costs $4.99/mo. or $49.99/annually. The ad-free plan which is called Premium and costs $9.99/mo. or $99.99/annually.
The Essential plan does not include the local CBS channel; however, you can watch NFL games that on CBS in their market and UEFA Champions League soccer matches. This tier also does not offer 4K streaming or downloading content for offline viewing. The Premium plan is only ad-free for on-demand content and can be bundled with Showtime for $14.99 per month or $18.99 per month depending on if you choose the ads or no ads.
Paramount+ currently offers a seven-day free trial so you can try out the service before you decide to make a commitment. Neither Netflix nor Disney Plus offers free trials.
What to Watch On Paramount+
The Paramount Plus streaming service offers a variety of different content that is both on-demand and on live TV. You are able to watch TV shows and movies from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Smithsonian Channel. Also available are CBS news and sports programming such as the NFL, NCAAF, and 2,000 different soccer matches.
The change from CBS All Access to Paramount Plus has greatly increased the amount and types of content featured. Paramount+ features over 1,000 different movies and over 30,000 TV episodes. CBS All Access had over 250 movies and over 10,000 TV episodes. The ViacomCBS Paramount makes Paramount Plus one of the best values amongst the different streaming services such as HBO Max or Disney+.
TV Shows
Paramount Plus has over 30,000 TV episodes spanning different brands and genres. The brands include BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Smithsonian Channel. The different genres include originals, dramas, comedies, reality, daytime, late night, kids, Star Trek, classics, docuseries, specials, news, and sports.
TV shows that are broadcast on CBS are included on-demand by Paramount Plus. CBS shows span several genres and are some of the most popular of all time.
Here is a list of some of the most popular CBS TV shows:
Love Island, Big Brother, NCIS, Survivor, Hawaii Five-O, The Good Fight, The Young & The Restless, Blue Bloods, 60 Minutes, The Neighborhood, Bull, Seal Team, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Carice, Touched by an Angel, FBI, The Equalizer, Face The Nation, CSI, Young Sheldon, Man With A Plan, Kids Say The Darndest Things, The Big Bang Theory, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and more.
In addition to CBS TV shows, the service also includes popular TV show titles from BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, and the Smithsonian Channel. Here is a list of some of the most popular TV show titles from these channels:
Real Husbands of Hollywood, Being Mary Jane, Sister Sister, The Game, Everybody Hates Chris, Reno 911!, Key and Peele, Chapelle’s Show, Crank Yankers, Comedy Central Presents, Ridiculousness, Teen Mom, Jersey Shore, The Real World, The Hills, Paw Patrol, Blaze and the Monster Machines, Peppa Pig, Team UmiZoomi, Bubble Guppies, Secrets Unlocked, Mystery Files, 9/11: The Heartland Tapes, Air Disasters, Disaster at Sea, and a lot more.
Movies
Paramount Pictures has been one of the top movie studios for many years. Many of their top movies are available on-demand. These movies include action, horror, comedy, documentaries, drama, thrillers, kids and family, and westerns.
Here is a list of some of the most popular movie titles:
A Quiet Place, Infinite, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run, World War Z, Baywatch, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Daddy’s Home, Star Trek: Into Darkness, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, Interstellar, Mission Impossible: Fallout, 13 Hours, Bumble Bee, The Addams Family, Jack Reacher, Star Trek Beyond, Terminator Genisys, Indiana Jones, Red Dawn, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, Jackass: The Movie, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, 2036 Origin Unknown, Arrival, Annihilation, Clue, An Unfinished Life, Tropic Thunder, and more.
Sports
CBS has always been home to a lot of different live sports coverage. Paramount+ is the best way to watch some of the world’s biggest sports and individual games and matches.
National Football League fans can watch live NFL games that are broadcast in their local CBS affiliate market. AFC teams have the majority of games on CBS. That means if you are a New England Patriots fan and you live in the Boston area, you will be able to watch the game live. CBS typically has a nationally broadcast game as well. If you’ve used CBS All Access in the past to stream NFL games then you will be familiar with the experience.
Soccer fans can rejoice as Paramount+ has become a monster for streaming live soccer games. Paramount Plus has over 2,000 different matches from the world’s most popular leagues. The streaming service offers coverage of UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, NWSL, CONCACAF Qualifiers, Brasileirao, and more.
CBS also broadcasts several other types of sports. You can watch The Masters, NCAAB March Madness, Big3 basketball, and SEC football.
Original Shows and Exclusives
Paramount+ doesn’t have the largest library of original content but it does have several popular shows. Originals are content that is exclusive only to the Paramount+ service.
Original content includes titles such as 60 Minutes+, Behind The Music, MTV Challenge All-Stars, Coyote, Dream Team, Evil, For Heaven’s Sake, From Cradle To Grave, The Good Fight, iCarly, Interrogation, Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years, No Activity, One Dollar, The Real World Homecoming, RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars, Rugrats, The Stand, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Pichard, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Strange Angel, Tell Me A Story, Texas 6, That Animal Rescue Show, The Thomas John Experience, Why Women Kill, and more.
News
Paramount+ has several different ways to watch news. You can watch the news live on your local CBS affiliate and you can also watch CBSN live, which is a 24/7 news channels. Other ways to watch news include on-demand streaming. Popular news programs offered by Paramount+ include 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes+, CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell, CBSAM, CBS This Morning, Face The Nation, and more.
Paramount+ Supported Devices
Paramount Plus has a great list of supported devices. It doesn’t matter if you are at home or on the go because you can use the Paramount+ app on smartphones, tablets, laptops, gaming consoles, smart TVs, digital media players, and more. Unlike many other services, there is no limit on how many devices you are allowed to connect to your account.
Here is a list of Paramount Plus’s supported devices:
- Apple TV
- iPhone and iPad
- Android TV
- Android phone and tablet
- Chromecast
- Fire TV
- Portal TV
- PlayStation 4
- Samsung TV
- Vizio TV
- LG TV
- Roku
- Xbox Xfinity Flex & X1
Paramount+ Web Interface
The Paramount Plus web interface is almost an exact clone of the CBS All Access platform. Paramount+ uses a dark color scheme, is intuitive, and easy-to-use. The interface is broken down into easy-to-navigate sections that separate content into several different categories.
On the top of the screen, you will see a navigational menu for shows, movies, live TV, brands, news, and a search bar. In the upper right, you will see the user displayed with a drop-down menu for the account settings.
Below this, in the main section, there is a carousel of the current popular titles being featured by Paramount Plus. Further below are navigational buttons that will take you to each brand’s section. Below this content is parsed into different sections such as Keep Watching, Shows Recommended For You, On Now, Originals, Reality Shows, Comedy Shows, and other categorically based sections.
Under the shows and movie sections, the TV shows and movies are defaulted to show what the most popular titles are. You can sort through the different genres and titles are listed in alphabetical order. The Brands section is similar to the home screen and displays different titles based on their genre or category.
If you are searching for live TV, you can hover over the menu at the top and select from different live TV channels. These live TV channels include CBS, CBS Sports HQ, CBSN (24/7 News), and ET Live.
The web interface is very good but it does lack some features that are included on other streaming services such as an add-to-watchlist feature. However, the company has indicated that this would likely be a feature in the future.
Paramount+ Mobile App
The Paramount+ mobile app is stylish, simple, and easy-to-use. Paramount Plus’s mobile app also uses a dark color scheme and sleek design that is similar to the web interface.
To navigate the web app there is a navigational menu at the bottom which is separated into Home, Search, and Live TV. The main section has a carousel featuring some of the top and most current content. You can also click on the different brands to be taken to their respective sections. Below this you will see groups titles in categories such as Keep Watching or Trending Shows.
One great feature of the Paramount Plus streaming service mobile app is that you can download content. You are able to set up download quality preferences, enable autoplay, and you can also see how much storage space is available on your device. To download an average 40-45 minute TV show, it will take approximately 1 minute over most connections. Titles that are downloaded will expire after 30 days.
Conclusion
Paramount+ is simply one of the best values out of any streaming service available. For the price you get a thousand different movies and tens of thousands of TV episodes on-demand. In addition to their massive on-demand library you also get live television from CBS. The content spans several different genres and has something for just about everyone. This is hands down the best option to watch NFL on CBS and SEC football games. The service now also carries games from several different global soccer leagues. Paramount+ can be used on virtually every major streaming device with no limits. The platform is reliable and very easy to use. While the interface does not have some of the more common features that other services do, it is our opinion that the transition from CBS All Access to Paramount+ has been an absolute success. The best part is that they offer a free trial so you can try it out before you commit.
