Paramount Plus Review: Nostalgia-Rich Streaming Service That Can’t Beat Netflix [CNET]

With fall’s CBS show premieres and the start of NFL season, you may be thinking about a Paramount Plus subscription. The platform houses films, popular cartoons, TV series like NCIS and live sports, making it feel like a mashup of streaming services past and present. Now that Showtime shows and movies are part of the app, you can even upgrade your experience for a few extra dollars.

Like Netflix, Paramount Plus has an extensive library of familiar, binge-worthy series and reality shows, but with a small bucket of originals. Like Hulu, you can choose from ad-supported or more expensive ad-free plans. Like Peacock, there’s a live TV component. Like Disney Plus, you’ll find a lot of content for kids, in this case from Nickelodeon. Similar to Max, you’ll get major movie releases that appear shortly after their theatrical premiere. All of this should add up to an exciting service with a lot to offer — especially for the $8 entry price — but ends up feeling like parts of all the ones you already have.

By the numbers, Paramount Plus has a ton of content — 30,000 episodes of TV and 2,500 movies, plus more than three dozen original series. Yellowstone spinoff 1883 has been a hit, and it’s backed up by audience favorites SEAL Team and Evil. Other series include Yellowstone spinoff 1923, a new Star Trek series and another show based on Halo. 

Parents can keep kids entertained with SpongeBob, Blue’s Clues, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Monster High content on the horizon. Plus, new movies like A Quiet Place: Day One typically arrive 45 days after theaters. Paramount Plus merged Showtime content into the app, giving you access to more than 600 titles if you sign up for the bundled plan. 

Even with all those additions, much of Paramount Plus’ value lies in nostalgia. You can watch just about every old Nickelodeon show, including All That, Comedy Central standup specials and popular series ranging from Frasier and Cheers to SpongeBob SquarePants and Young Sheldon. You get existing originals like Star Trek Discovery and The Good Fight, as well as the live feed of your local CBS station if you spring for the $13-per-month ad-free option. 

On the other hand, many shows you might expect, including the Paramount Network hit Yellowstone (it’s on Peacock), CBS staples The Big Bang Theory (Max) and Two and a Half Men (Peacock again) are not available on Paramount Plus. It’s the case with South Park, too, but the streaming service does offer exclusive originals for the show. Blame licensing.

If you’re already a fan of any of the CBS or Viacom shows that are available — or you’re just looking to change up your streaming options — the Paramount Plus $8-a-month Essential plan is a decent deal. If you’re looking to cut back on your streaming services, it isn’t a must-have on the same level as Hulu, for example, which costs the same and has much more variety and original programming.

How much is Paramount Plus?

Paramount Plus offers live news and sports as well as on-demand shows and movies, including originals, leaning on parent company Paramount Global brands like CBS, MTV, BET, VH1, Nickelodeon and Paramount Network, plus the Paramount Pictures movie studio. There are also more than one dozen live channels that stream curated content 24/7 and Showtime titles.

Paramount Plus costs $13 a month for the ad-free Premium subscription, or $8 a month for the ad-based Essential plan, which does not have access to your local CBS stations. For that, you’ll need to subscribe to the $13-a-month plan. The service is available in the US, Canada and 18 Latin American countries. 

Showtime content is now available directly in the app, but you must upgrade to the premium Paramount Plus with Showtime plan to watch it.

What you can stream on Paramount Plus

Anecdotally, most people I know seem to have signed up for the service for two reasons: Star Trek or The Good Fight. With the Yellowstone prequel 1883, Halo, Evil and Tulsa King, they’re among the most popular originals exclusive to Paramount Plus.

At launch, there were 20 exclusive originals — far more than the nine titles available at Apple TV’s start. Most are from familiar properties that first appeared on CBS All Access, including Jordan Peele’s reboot of The Twilight Zone and The Stand. The full Star Trek catalog, including every show in the various series and originals like Discovery, Picard and Lower Decks, will likely remain a major draw for the platform. With the integration of Showtime content into the app, viewers who pay for the Paramount Plus Showtime subscription can access even more TV shows.

One of the biggest draws might be for kids. Nickelodeon’s library of nearly 7,000 episodes of kids and family shows includes SpongeBob’s CG-animated spinoff, Kamp Koral, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Paw Patrol and iCarly. Its 24-hour live channels have five selections that are kiddie-themed and feature content for preschoolers up to teens. Millennials will also find seasons of ’90s shows like All That, Kenan & Kel and Are You Afraid of the Dark? It’s not Disney Plus, but it’s a pretty impressive collection if you’re into anything Nickelodeon past or present. 

Paramount Plus also integrated CBS Sports HQ, streaming more than 1,000 live sporting events per year, including the NFL on CBS, The Masters and the UEFA Champions League and Europa League. AFC fans should know that you need a Premium subscription to watch NFL games on Sundays through your local CBS affiliate. Check here to see if your region is covered for live broadcasts.

Due to the Comedy Central connection, you’ll find a large selection of standup specials. Easily navigate to this content by clicking the “Brands” menu, where you’ll also see designated tiles for BET, CBS, Smithsonian, Nickelodeon and MTV programming.

In terms of other movies, the Paramount Plus collection is… varied. You have classics like Titanic, Gladiator and the Mission Impossibles, but also a whole lot of titles I’d forgotten that were in theaters in the ’90s and early aughts (hello, Addams Family Values and Pulp Fiction). I did enjoy the trip down memory lane that scrolling through the available movies gave me, but I wouldn’t say it’s a must-have selection. Also, it’s important to note that movies like the Die Hard franchise are now available through Showtime, but you need to have the Paramount Plus Showtime plan to receive access to more titles. 

If you aren’t a fan of any of those shows or movies (or sports), Paramount Plus may bring you in with some of its originals, including Beavis and Butt-Head, a revival of ’90s sitcom Frasier, and a long-awaited new animated Avatar: The Last Airbender movie.

Another bonus: Some major Paramount movies will arrive on the streaming service about a month and a half after they premiere in theaters. Gladiator II will likely arrive on Paramount Plus to stream 45 days after it first hits theaters, and other titles include Smile 2 and Transformers One.

What’s it like to use Paramount Plus? 

I tested the app across an Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV Stick, along with an iPhone and Android phone, and found the experience to be largely the same across all platforms in terms of layout and content. 

Paramount Plus’ home page looks very similar to other streaming services: At the top, you’ll see a few featured titles like on Disney Plus and Max. The continue watching row is underneath it, followed by rows for most watched movies, featured picks and then a personal watchlist. Next are genre shows recommended for you, collections, and in the middle, a row of branded tiles for networks like CBS, Showtime, Nickelodeon and MTV.

If you scroll to the navigation sidebar, you’ll see Search, Home, along with the ability to search through movies, TV shows, live TV, collections, news and sports. Once you click on a sidebar option, a menu will appear at the top of the screen (for example, when selecting movies, you’re taken to that screen with a row of genre options at the top). Overall, using the platform is straightforward and simple. Paramount Plus is available to stream at ParamountPlus.com and on most mobile devices, gaming consoles and media players.

Let’s talk 4K, downloads and parental controls

Paramount Plus supports 4K and HDR for some content if you’re a Premium subscriber, which costs more. Select Roku devices support the 4K format, but Paramount Plus does not offer it for Roku version 10.5.

You can download up to 25 shows to your mobile device — if you have a Premium account — and stream on three devices at once. You can create up to six separate profiles per account, including profiles with Kids Mode turned on, and decide if you want content for younger kids (rated TV-Y) or older kids (up to TV-PG). Be sure to activate the parental controls to filter content for younger viewers. Adding a PIN will allow you to lock content based on its maturity rating, but you’ll be required to enter that PIN to switch out of the kids’ profile or to access restricted streams, including live channels.

Basically, this is a functional service, but there aren’t a ton of bells and whistles. For example, at launch, there was no watchlist to let you bookmark shows and movies to watch later. The service did finally add a My List feature.

Should you try Paramount Plus? 

If you’re a fan of Star Trek, reality shows, CBS mainstays or Paramount Plus originals, having a subscription is a no-brainer — you’ll get the same content plus a whole lot more. The addition of Showtime content in the app may be worth paying the higher price if you’re a fan of the network’s content.

If you haven’t subscribed and already have Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video or Disney Plus, know that this probably won’t replace any of those for you. But if you are looking for some new shows or want to revisit old favorites, the $8-a-month ad-supported tier is toward the lower end of streaming service prices. It’s also a content playground if you have children. And once more originals and major movie releases arrive, it could be worth your while. 

In the meantime, if you’re curious and sign up as a new member, you can try out Paramount Plus with a one-week free trial.