Taylor Sheridan’s myriad Yellowstone spinoffs don’t come cheap, folks.
Paramount+ announced Thursday that it is hiking its monthly subscription rates in the near future. Specifically, the “Premium” Paramount+ tier with Showtime will rise from $9.99 to $11.99, while the “Essential” tier without Showtime and with advertising will increase from $4.99 to $5.99. A specific timetable for the price hikes is not known.
The news comes two weeks after Paramount execs announced that Paramount+ and Showtime would merge into one standalone entity, to be branded Paramount+ With Showtime. The new service will host originals from both the linear cable channel (e.g., Billions, The Chi, Yellowjackets) and the streamer (such as 1923, Criminal Minds: Evolution, Tulsa King).
“Today, we’re announcing that we will be fully integrating Showtime into Paramount+ across both streaming and linear platforms later this year, providing even more popular franchises and hit originals for viewers to enjoy,” Paramount CEO Bob Bakish said in a memo late last month. “To reflect this change, both our premium streaming tier on Paramount+ and the Showtime linear network will become Paramount+ With Showtime in the U.S.”
In the wake of the merger news, Showtime announced the cancellations of two freshman series: American Gigolo and Let the Right One In. You can read more about those cancellations here. It also unveiled plans to expand the Dexter and Billions franchises via multiple spinoffs.
