Paramount+ subscription

What is Paramount+

Paramount+ is Paramount Skydance's streaming service, built on the combined catalogue of CBS, the Paramount movie library, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, and — since the 2023 integration — Showtime. It replaced the older CBS All Access service and has grown into a platform that leans on three pillars: live sports, the Showtime prestige library, and a broad back-catalogue of network television and family content.

The sports angle is a genuine differentiator. Paramount+ carries NFL games aired on CBS, UEFA Champions League soccer, and — under a rights deal that began in 2026 — UFC. For a lot of subscribers, the sports are the reason they're there, with the entertainment catalogue as a bonus rather than the main draw.

On the entertainment side, the Showtime library is the prestige anchor: Yellowjackets, Dexter, Billions, and the rest of the Showtime back-catalogue sit on the Premium tier. Beyond that, the strength is breadth — decades of CBS programming, the Paramount film library, and a deep Nickelodeon catalogue that makes it a quietly strong pick for households with kids.

Plans available

Paramount+ runs two tiers in the US:

• Essential — the ad-supported entry tier. On-demand Paramount and CBS catalogue, NFL on CBS, Champions League soccer, 24/7 CBS News, and a sampling of Showtime content. No offline downloads and no live local CBS station.
• Premium — ad-free for on-demand content (live TV and select promotions are the exception). Includes everything in Essential plus the full Showtime library, a 24/7 live feed of your local CBS affiliate, 4K UHD streaming, and offline downloads.

Both tiers are available month-to-month or annually, with the annual option discounted. As with every streaming service, prices have risen more than once — check the current rate on Paramount's own plans page rather than trusting a figure from an older article.

There are also bundle routes worth knowing about. Paramount+ Essential is included at no extra cost with a Walmart+ membership, which is the single best-known way to get the service effectively free if you're already a Walmart+ subscriber. It's also frequently bundled through telecom and other partner programs.

Why the sports and Showtime mix makes Paramount+ different

Most streaming services compete on originals — the flagship show everyone's talking about. Paramount+ competes on a different axis: live sports plus a deep back-catalogue. The NFL-on-CBS and Champions League rights mean that for a meaningful slice of subscribers, Paramount+ is a sports service that happens to also have a large entertainment library.

That shapes who it's for. If you're chasing the next prestige drama everyone's discussing, Paramount+ usually isn't where it lives. If you want to watch your team on CBS, follow Champions League, and have a deep bench of movies, network TV, and Showtime drama to fall back on, it punches well above its reputation.

The flip side is that the originals slate is thinner than Netflix's or Apple TV+'s, and that's the main reason Paramount+ tends to be a second or third service in a household rather than the one people pick first.

When Paramount+ is worth keeping

It's worth it if:

• You watch NFL games on CBS, Champions League soccer, or UFC — the live sports are the strongest single reason to subscribe
• You want the Showtime library (Yellowjackets, Dexter, Billions) — this needs the Premium tier
• You have kids who watch Nickelodeon — the children's catalogue is deep and a genuine value-add
• You already have Walmart+ — Essential comes bundled at no extra cost, which changes the math entirely
• You want a broad back-catalogue of CBS and Paramount content as a complement to a primary service

It's worth reconsidering if:

• You subscribed for one specific sports season and it's now the off-season — this is the most common forgotten-renewal trap with Paramount+
• You're paying for Premium but don't watch Showtime content or need your live local CBS station — Essential may cover what you actually use
• You haven't opened the app since the last big match or show finished
• You're already getting Essential through Walmart+ and are somehow also paying separately

How to track Paramount+ and avoid forgotten subscriptions

Paramount+ has a very specific forgotten-subscription pattern: people sign up for a sports season — an NFL run, a Champions League campaign — and then keep paying through the off-season without watching. The season ends, you don't cancel, and months of subscription quietly go by with the app untouched until the next season starts.

GetRenewal tracks Paramount+ alongside your other subscriptions:

• Annual cost projection across all your streaming services, so you can see when sports-season subscriptions are stacking up
• Renewal reminders a few days before the charge — especially valuable for annual prepaid plans where the next year's bill arrives as one large transaction
• A nudge when your viewing patterns suggest you've drifted into an off-season gap
• Bundle-aware tracking if you have Essential via Walmart+ or a telecom partner

The most useful pattern with Paramount+ specifically: pause it in the off-season. There's no contract, your profile and watchlist wait for you, and resubscribing when your sport returns is trivial. The auto-renewal model works against this — which is exactly why a reminder before each charge is worth having.

How to cancel Paramount+

1. Sign in at paramountplus.com (cancellation is web-based for direct subscriptions)
2. Click your profile (top-right) → Account
3. Under your subscription, choose Cancel Subscription
4. Confirm
5. Your access continues until the end of the current billing period
6. Your profiles, watchlist, and viewing history stay saved if you resubscribe later

If you signed up through a third party — the Apple App Store, Google Play, Amazon Channels, Roku, or a partner like Walmart+ — cancellation has to go through that channel. Paramount's own cancellation flow won't work for subscriptions billed by a partner, and the site will point you to the right place.

Alternatives to Paramount+

The closest peers, in rough order of overlap:

• Max — the other prestige-drama-plus-back-catalogue service. Stronger on HBO drama density, weaker on live sports. The most direct "instead of Paramount+ Premium" comparison if Showtime drama is what you're after.
• Netflix — much broader originals catalogue and far more volume, but no live network sports. The default first streaming service for most households.
• Hulu — strong on current US network TV, similar CBS-adjacent territory, often the alternative for catching up on broadcast shows.
• Disney+ — completely different content focus (family, franchise), but a common second-slot pick and frequently bundled.

If you're deciding whether to keep Paramount+, the honest test is your "Continue Watching" row and your sports calendar. If there's a live competition you're actively following or a Showtime series you're mid-way through, it's earning its place. If the last thing you watched was a match that finished weeks ago, the renewal is paying for a possibility, not a habit.