Paramount+ announced Monday that the streaming service will raise prices as it completes its merger with Showtime on June 27th. Image courtesy of Paramount+
May 23 (UPI) -- Paramount+ viewers can expect to pay higher prices this summer as the streaming service announced Monday it will raise prices when it completes its merger with Showtime on June 27th.
Prices for the merged streamer will go up a dollar a month to $5.99 for its existing ad-supported essential plan without Showtime content, and two dollars a month to $11.99 for the streaming service's premium plan with Showtime. The intermediate plan, which offered Paramount+ content and ad-free streaming without Showtime, will no longer be offered.
Paramount+, which is known for its series Yellowjackets and Billions, will be rebranded as "Paramount+ with Showtime" by the end of the year. The Showtime TV network will also feature content from Paramount+, as the Showtime app is phased out.
"With Showtime's content integrated into our flagship streaming service, and select Paramount+ originals joining the linear offering, Paramount+ will become the definitive multiplatform brand in the streaming space -- and the first of its kind to integrate streaming and linear content in this way," Paramount Global Chief Executive Officer Bob Bakish told staff in January, as the new name was announced.
Earlier this month, Paramount announced it was cutting 25% of its domestic TV networks' staff as the company finalized the merger.
Besides staff reductions, the combined platforms will also reduce content spending. Other media companies have chosen to cut production costs through mergers in order to make streaming more profitable.
Warner Bros. Discovery is combining HBO Max and Discovery+ to launch Max on Tuesday. And Disney plans to cut $3 billion in content spending by adding Hulu content to its Disney+ platform.
