Streaming bills keep climbing. Paramount Plus became the latest service to raise prices, effective January 15th.
The increase hits both subscription tiers. Essential with ads now costs $9 monthly, up from $8. Premium without ads jumped to $14, up from $13. That’s a buck more each month for either plan.
Annual subscriptions also got more expensive. Essential climbs to $90 per year from $60. Premium rises to $140 annually from $120. So if you prepay for a full year, you’re looking at $30 to $20 more depending on your tier.
Both New and Existing Subscribers Pay More
Nobody escapes this one. Current subscribers will see higher charges on their next billing cycle. New signups face the increased prices immediately.
Paramount justified the hike in a November shareholder letter. They promised to “fuel continued reinvestment in the user experience and deliver an even stronger slate of programming.” Translation: more content costs more money, and they’re passing that cost to you.
Plus, the US isn’t alone. Australia and Canada also saw price adjustments. Streaming companies worldwide are squeezing more revenue from subscribers.
What You Get With Each Plan
The two tiers differ in meaningful ways. Essential comes with ads but includes most content. You can watch NFL games on CBS, UEFA Champions League matches, and popular shows like Landman and Tulsa King.
Premium removes all ads. It also adds downloadable titles for offline viewing and full access to Showtime’s library. Plus, you get your local CBS station live instead of just sports feeds.
Both plans offer Taylor Sheridan’s catalog, South Park episodes, Star Trek series, CBS shows, Paramount movies, and live sports. So the core content stays consistent. You’re mainly paying extra to skip ads and grab some premium features.
The Bigger Streaming Price Problem
This fits a frustrating pattern. Nearly every major streaming service raised prices in the past two years. Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, Max, Apple TV Plus—they all increased subscription costs.
Streaming was supposed to be the cheaper alternative to cable. Remember when services cost $8 to $10 monthly? Those days are gone. Now you’re paying cable-level prices if you subscribe to multiple platforms.
Companies claim they need revenue to fund new content. Fair enough. But constant price hikes without corresponding improvements feel like a cash grab. Especially when services already rake in billions from ads and subscriber fees combined.
Should You Stay or Cancel?
Depends on what you actually watch. If you’re hooked on Yellowstone spin-offs, Star Trek shows, or CBS sports, Paramount Plus might still deliver value at $9 or $14 monthly.
But if you subscribed during a free trial and barely opened the app? Cut it loose. Save that $108 to $168 annually for services you genuinely use.
Consider rotating subscriptions too. Watch your must-see shows during one month, then cancel until next season drops. Most services make this easy now. You can pause and restart without penalty.
Or downgrade from Premium to Essential if you don’t need ad-free viewing. That $5 monthly difference adds up to $60 annually—enough to subscribe to another service for a few months.
The streaming landscape keeps shifting. Prices rise while content quality doesn’t always improve proportionally. So vote with your wallet. Subscribe to what you actually watch. Cancel the rest without guilt.
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