Showtime content is now available for free through Paramount Plus and one of the effects of this change is that Showtime won’t exist at all as a separate streaming service soon.
Paramount Global, Showtime’s parent company, had already confirmed that the standalone Showtime streaming apps will be discontinued by the end of 2023. At which point, subscribers will no longer be able to use them to access the service.
While the Showtime apps continue to work for now, the service as a whole is already in the process of being discontinued. On July 6, for example, Showtime ended the option to sign up for a new subscription. If now attempting to sign up through the Showtime website, you’ll see that Showtime directs you to sign up to Paramount Plus instead.
Specifically, you’ll be directed to subscribe to the new Paramount+ with Showtime plan as that’s now the only Paramount Plus plan that includes access to Showtime.
Priced at $11.99 per month, Paramount+ with Showtime is only slightly more expensive than the standalone Showtime subscription, and costs exactly the same price as the Paramount Plus and Showtime bundle did prior to the merging of the two services.
With all of this in mind, existing Showtime subscribers will need to begin to consider switching over to Paramount Plus if they want to retain access to Showtime in 2024 and beyond.
Consider switching to Paramount Plus
Again, the apps are not fully being shut down until later in the year, so existing subscribers can continue to watch on the Showtime website or through any apps they have installed on their devices until the end of 2023.
At present, there is no way to automatically switch subscriptions over. Instead, the only way to make the switch is to sign up to the Paramount+ with Showtime plan through the Paramount Plus website.
$8 to $13/mo
- Originals
- Showtime
- Live Sports
However, signing up for Paramount Plus won’t cancel the existing Showtime subscription. Due to this, existing subscribers will still need to manually cancel their subscription either before or after switching to Paramount Plus.
For those that are signed up to Showtime through a third party, such as YouTube TV or Prime Video Channels, there are currently no changes confirmed for that type of subscription yet.
That’s not to say changes won’t be coming, as they will, and likely closer to the end of the year, it is just that Paramount Global has yet to announce any changes.
Unless you happen to be getting a better deal through the third-party provider, it might be worth considering switching to Paramount Plus sooner rather than later, and especially considering you’ll also get access to the Paramount Plus library as well.
If you are already paying for Paramount Plus in addition to Showtime, then it makes even more sense to close out that existing Showtime subscription now, and regardless of whether it’s billed through a third-party or Showtime.
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