I really don't follow what's going on here...

They renamed the premium cable network "Paramount+ with Showtime" but it's still just the same old Showtime and has very little, if any, actual Paramount+ content.

Someone I know who has DirecTV and a Showtime subscription was looking for the new Criminal Minds season and they are neither broadcasting it nor offering it on demand.

Because the new season of Criminal Minds is a Paramount+ original streaming series. Has nothing to do with Showtime.

It's confusing and I wouldn't explain it right if I tried.

Basically the Showtime linear network took the "Paramount+" name, but they don't have "Paramount+ or CBS" content. It's just "Showtime" content.

But, you can get a "Paramount+ with showtime" subscription that has everything or you can just have it with only "Paramount+ and CBS" content. See, makes sense right?

So, what, they basically just changed the name of their channel to "Paramount+" in order to promote their streaming service?

From a branding and marketing point of view, a lot of these decisions are really baffling. Renaming "Showtime" to "Paramount+ with Showtime" or renaming the biggest prestige brand in television, "HBO," "MAX."

Showtime now runs Paramount+ programming on the Showtimes channels

It doesn't sound like Skydance will shut down Paramount +, but they will make adjustments to make it more profitable. They are definitely going to be licensing out more content and not have it be stuck at Paramount+

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bu...m_term=6431290

They should. Basically keep first run content locked behind the P+ paywall. Then license out older more popular stuff and make money off of it. I am sure there are plenty of streaming platforms that would pay to have Top Gun: Maverick, Transformers or Sponge Bob on their service.

It would be nice to see Skydance step in and renew some of the exclusive series (like EVIL) that have gotten cancelled, but that seems unlikely, since they technically won't have control until 2025.

They may not be shutting it down but having less exclusives (and that statement doesn't seem to preclude stuff not making it to Paramount + altogether) certainly isn't a great way to bolster the service.

Like it sounds like first run content is going to be elsewhere. In fact I thought this was already their strategy because I swear a ton of their stuff goes to Hulu really quickly (and they've licensed stuff out to Netflix recently)

The new movie "If" was just released on Paramount+ today

Right now their strategy for new movies seem to be to put it out on PVOD for a few weeks and then it makes it's way to Paramount+

I don't think I've seen any recent Paramount movies go to Hulu or Netflix. Maybe older titles.

I think a lot of their titles go to Paramount Plus first but then within a month or two go to Prime video as part of some deal they have.

Yes it's with Prime video and MGM+

Right, for stuff like Mission Impossible. But it makes P+ kind of superfluous to me since I already have Prime and the wait isn't too bad (I mainly get it because it was pretty cheap and because of Big Brother). Moving even more stuff off of it would make it even more superfluous, but again maybe that's just me.

It looks like the free Paramount+ deal with Sportsline has dried up. I was on it for the past year.

Now you only get a 30 day free trial. My subscription didn't expire until the end of January, but I clicked cancel on Sportsline and they extended me 3 months until April. Looks like when it runs out, I'll have to pay the regular annual cost.

All good things come to an end eventually.

Still haven't renewed my expired membership. P+ is getting real stingy with lackluster deals.

I went to cancel my P+ membership the other day. I resubscribed for October Horror stuff for the month and of course, forgot to cancel. Noticed the new monthly charge, went to cancel through the system and they gave me two more months free if I didn't immediately cancel then.

Did the ploy work?

A good amount of cartoons/children's programming was removed recently: https://tvline.com/news/paramount-pl...sh-1235392792/

Doug and Big Time Rush were the two most notably along with: Blue’s Room, Kung-Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, Fanboy & Chum Chum, The Penguins of Madagascar, Game Shakers, Breadwinners, AwesomenessTV, House of Anubis, Welcome to the Wayne, Wonder Pets, Let’s Just Play: Go Healthy Challenge and Zoofari.

Ah, we had just started watching a little bit of Doug, that's too bad.

I didn't realize Wonder Pets was on, I missed out! My wife and I used to make fun of that show all the time! We had this running gag where Ming-Ming would do or say something off-the-wall bonkers (which isn't far from the truth of most episodes!), only for Linny and Tuck to stare her down until Linny mutters, "...Knock it off, Ming-Ming..."

gladiator 2 is now streaming

Noticed when I accidentally clicked into the app on the ATV+ it said 2 months of P+ & Showtime for $2.99 and then regular price thereafter.

Now that's a deal. Will probably get the two month special, binge a bunch of shit, and cancel before the 2 months are up.

I misspoke. It's 0.99 for two months. I clicked into it and it said I was not eligible for the offer. Fuck that then.

WalMart+ members get 6-Months Free Paramount+ with Showtime during the WalMart+ Week sale. (April 28 - May 4). After that, it renews at $65/year.

https://www.walmart.com/plus/event/walmart-plus-week

So the Sportsline.com deal with Paramount+ is now long dead. My subscription finally expired after using it with different emails for the last few years, Having it for around $49/per year was nice, but nothing lasts forever.

I did re-sign up for the annual subscription with no ads. It's $119.99 with Showtime. I have a AMEX $12.98 discount, so it comes out to around $107. I know a lot of you don't stay with streaming subs long term, but P+ is the streaming service I use the most aside from Netflix, Disney+ and Max. So I wasn't going to wait. Plus, the new season of Criminal Minds: Evolution starts soon.

It's dead as in you signed up for Sportsline and it didn't have a Paramount Plus sub attached to it? Because sportsline has an offer for "new" subscribers for 40 bucks a year.

Apparently it’s only a 30 day trial and it’s the Essential plan that has ads. Not the Showtime version that is ad free and more expensive.