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Paramount+ review: Come for the police procedurals, stay for the news, sports and movies
This affordable streaming service has more to offer than most people think.
If you asked me to name the "cool kids" of streaming services, I'd probably list Hulu, Max and Netflix; they seem to spark the lion's share of the conversation. So what about Paramount+, home to CBS-produced "senior" fare like Matlock, Blue Bloods, 60 Minutes and The Equalizer? I think it deserves some "rezz" (or whatever word for respect the kids are using these days), because there's a ton of quality content here at a fairly affordable price.
In addition to copious amounts of current and classic TV and movies, you get both national and local news, a decent helping of live sports (including NFL games) and quite a lot of kids programming. I'd definitely fix a few things about the interface, but otherwise I have few complaints. Here's my Paramount+ review.
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Free trial: 7 days | Individual user profiles: 6 | Parental controls: Yes | Live programming: News, sports, genre-specific channels
VERDICT: Anchored by CBS content and amplified by news, sports, kids programming and lots more, Paramount+ has a lot to offer — all at a reasonable price.
- Good value, especially if you pay annually
- Lots of classic, modern and exclusive content
- Generous selection of kids' programming
- Includes some live channels and sporting events
- Dark, crowded interface
- Rudimentary parental controls
- Some sports requires premium subscription
Paramount+: What will it cost you?
Like Hulu, Disney+ and most other modern streaming services, Paramount+ offers subscription tiers with and without ads (meaning commercial breaks). Paramount+ Essentials — the one with ads — costs $7.99 per month or $59.99 per year. The latter represents a pretty decent savings, as it works out to just $5/month.
Paramount+ with Showtime costs $12.99 per month or $119.99 per year. That option not only dispenses with ads, but also nets you the complete roster of Showtime content, along with 4K streaming for select movies and shows and the option of downloading for offline viewing (like on a phone or tablet).
Take note, however, that any live content you watch — news, sports, etc. — will indeed have commercials, because that's the nature of live TV. See below for more on the service's live programming.
Before you sign up for Paramount+, check to see if it might already be included with something else you're paying for. A Walmart+ subscription, for example, includes the Paramount Essentials plan. (Point of reference: That's how I'm currently accessing the service.) If you have a T-Mobile postpaid account for your phone, that might net you free Paramount Essentials as well.
With ads, Paramount+ is fairly affordable, and priced in line with the ad-supported plans from Hulu, Peacock and Netflix. The question is whether or not it has the kinds of shows and movies you enjoy.
Paramount+: What kind of content does it have?
You can find one clue in the service's original name: CBS All Access. In addition to the aforementioned modern-day CBS shows, Paramount+ is home to a considerable library of classics: I Love Lucy, Cheers, Taxi and lots more. If it's "comfort TV" you're after, you'll find loads of it here.
There's plenty of notable new stuff as well, including Ghosts, Tracker, The Daily Show (Paramount also owns Comedy Central) and the utterly delightful Colin From Accounts, along with more police procedurals than you can wave a chalk outline at. And Paramount+ is the exclusive home of pretty much everything that springs from the mind of Taylor Sheridan. That includes Landman, Lioness, Tulsa King, Lawmen Bass Reeves and Yellowstone prequels 1883 and 1923. (Weirdly, the original Yellowstone show isn't here, as Paramount has licensed that over to Peacock.)
This is also the place for nearly every Star Trek series and movie ever made, from The Original Series to the upcoming third season of Strange New Worlds. (If you're a super-fan, take note the animated Prodigy has moved over to Netflix.) And Paramount+ usually has all the Mission: Impossible movies, though at this writing the fifth one, Rogue Nation, is inexplicably MIA. (Paging Tom Cruise. Literally.)
Speaking of movies, Paramount+ occasionally rolls out high-profile Paramount Studios movies not long after they've left the theater: A Quiet Place: Day One, Gladiator II, Scream VI and Top Gun: Maverick, for example.
There's oodles more. In addition to Showtime and Comedy Central, Paramount currently owns BET, MTV, the Smithsonian Channel and Nickelodeon. This last will please parents; Nickelodeon shows like Paw Patrol, SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer and Blue's Clues are here in abundance, along with live-action tween/teen fare like Henry Danger.
Unsurprising given its CBS connective tissue, you'll find not only news programs (48 Hours, CBS Mornings, etc.), but also live streams from a CBS headlines channel and over a dozen major-market local news channels. If you live in close proximity to a CBS-owned broadcast station, you should be able to access a 24-hour local simulcast as well. With the premium (Showtime) tier, Paramount claims that "live TV is available in 99% of the United States."
As for sports, Paramount+ streams NFL football games during the season — not all of them, of course, but if it's airing on your local CBS affiliate station, you should be able to watch it here. The service carries some golf and soccer as well, and if you opt for the premium subscription, you'll gain access to NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball (March Madness, anyone?), Big Ten Football, The Masters, UEFA Champions League soccer and more.
Finally, the Live TV section includes a couple dozen genre-specific channels similar to those found on free-TV streaming service Pluto. (Paramount owns it, so this comes as no surprise.) In addition to channels generically labeled "Movies" and "Drama," you'll find ones that show CSI, Star Trek and Survivor around the clock. While it's nice to have these available under the Paramount+ roof, there's no real added value given that you can get the same channels (and many more) free via Pluto.
Paramount+: What's the interface like?
The Paramount+ interface feels a bit dark and overcrowded, with a few areas that could use fine-tuning (and a few key differences between the Roku and Google TV versions; I tested both). For example, although it employs the typical left-side navigation menu — Search, Home, Movies, Shows, Live TV, etc. — many of the subsequent landing pages rely on a top menu for further filtering: New & Popular, Kids & Family and so on. There's a fair bit of side-scrolling required to see them all; it would make more sense to list them vertically and keep all the menus nested together.
What's more, if you choose the Essentials Plan (meaning no Showtime), you'll still see Showtime content mixed in with everything else. A little padlock on each thumbnail indicates that it's "locked out" for you, but it still feels a little bait-and-switchy to show it at all. At least relegate the Showtime stuff to its own row rather than sprinkling it alongside everything else.
Another irritant: There doesn't seem to be a way to turn off preview videos for whatever your cursor lands on. Although there's an "Autoplay" on/off toggle in the settings, it doesn't specify what this is — and turning it off didn't stop the preview videos. There is, at least, a "Preview audio" toggle that can mute the sound.
The interface does employ a few visual elements I appreciate. For example, you'll often see a bright blue "new series" or "new episode" banner atop the thumbnail for a particular show, the latter especially helpful for staying caught up on your favorite series. And when you pause playback, the screen displays not only a progress bar, but also quick access to sub-menus like My List, Keep Watching and You May Also Like. (That's in the Roku version; for some reason the Google TV app shows only On Now and Related sub-menus.)
Also in the Roku app, you can press the star button to instantly add any show or movie to your watchlist; a nice little convenience — but there's no such option for Google TV users.
For parents, Paramount+ supports turning any user profile into a child profile, albeit with limited controls: It's either "Older Kids" or "Younger Kids," the former topping out at PG-rated content, the latter allowing only "TV-Y" and "G". It would be nice if you could get a little more granular about it, as you can with Disney+.
Paramount+: The verdict
As with services like Hulu and Peacock, your decision to choose Paramount+ depends largely on what you like to watch. If CBS shows are your jam, they're all here. Same goes for Star Trek; this is home to the lion's share of classic, current and upcoming series. You're also treated to NFL games, various other sports and a full complement of CBS news channels.
So, yeah, a pretty solid streaming service overall. And an affordable one, especially if you prepay for a year at a time.
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