# Paramount+
> SVOD streaming service · paramount global
- Profile type: Product
- Profile status: baseline
- Last updated: 2026-05-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Canonical URL: https://thestateofstreaming.com/products/paramount-plus/
- Also known as: Paramount Plus, CBS All Access, P+
## Summary
Paramount+ is Paramount Skydance Corporation's flagship subscription streaming service, launched March 4, 2021 as a rebrand of CBS All Access. It anchors the company's direct-to-consumer business with two tiers (Essential ad-supported; Premium ad-free with Showtime), and carries CBS Sports inventory including the NFL on CBS and UFC. Slated to share a unified tech stack with Pluto TV by mid-2026.

## Product facts

- Category: SVOD streaming service
- Parent company: paramount global (https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/paramount-global/)
- Launched: 2021-03-04
- Ad model: dual SVOD + ad-supported tier
- Pricing: Two U.S. tiers as of January 15, 2026: Essential at $7.99/mo with ads ($59.99/yr), Premium with Showtime at $12.99/mo ad-free ($119.99/yr). A $1/month price increase across both tiers is taking effect in early 2026.


## Key facts

- Paramount+ launched March 4, 2021 as a rebrand and expansion of CBS All Access, layering Paramount, Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, Comedy Central and Smithsonian Channel libraries onto the existing CBS streaming service. — Paramount press release (ViacomCBS launch announcement): https://www.paramount.com/press/viacomcbs-launches-paramount-plus
- Paramount+ ended 2025 with 79 million paid subscribers (up roughly 4% year-over-year on a methodology that now excludes free trials), and Q4 2025 Paramount+ revenue rose 17% to $1.84 billion from $1.56 billion a year earlier. — Paramount Investor Relations — Q4 and full year 2025 earnings release: https://ir.paramount.com/news-releases/news-release-details/paramount-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2025-financial/
- Paramount's direct-to-consumer segment, anchored by Paramount+, swung to a full-year 2025 operating profit of $230 million on $8.35 billion in revenue — the company's first full year of streaming profitability — compared with a $497 million loss on $8.12 billion in 2024. — Paramount Investor Relations — Q4 and full year 2025 earnings release: https://ir.paramount.com/news-releases/news-release-details/paramount-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2025-financial/
- At Paramount's first upfront under Skydance ownership on April 16, 2026, Chief Product Officer Dane Glasgow confirmed Pluto TV will move to the Paramount+ tech stack starting summer 2026, consolidating both services onto a single codebase. — Deadline: https://deadline.com/2026/04/pluto-tv-upgrade-david-ellison-paramount-la-upfront-1236864034/
- Paramount+ Essential tier carries CBS Sports inventory including NFL on CBS and UFC; the Premium tier ($12.99/mo) is ad-free, bundles Showtime, and includes local live CBS plus 4K UHD playback. — Paramount+ official sign-up page: https://www.paramountplus.com/account/signup/pickplan/


## Related

- paramount global (parent company) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/paramount-global/
- pluto tv (sibling streaming service (shared tech stack mid-2026)) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/products/pluto-tv/
- sports rights fragmentation (carries CBS Sports inventory (NFL on CBS, UFC)) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/tech/sports-rights-fragmentation/
- addressable advertising (ad-supported Essential tier) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/tech/addressable-advertising/


## External coverage

- Paramount Skydance: Paramount+ official site (https://www.paramountplus.com/)
- 2026-02-25 — Paramount Skydance Investor Relations: Paramount Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results (https://ir.paramount.com/news-releases/news-release-details/paramount-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2025-financial/)
- 2021-03-04 — Paramount: ViacomCBS Launches Paramount+ (https://www.paramount.com/press/viacomcbs-launches-paramount-plus)
- 2026-04-17 — Deadline: Pluto TV Upgrade On The Way As David Ellison Reiterates Paramount's Commitment To Storytelling At L.A. Upfronts (https://deadline.com/2026/04/pluto-tv-upgrade-david-ellison-paramount-la-upfront-1236864034/)
- 2026-04-16 — Variety: Paramount's First Upfront Under Skydance Touts Tech, Sports (https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/paramount-david-ellison-upfront-skydance-tech-sports-1236724366/)

## Profile
Paramount+ is the consumer endpoint of nearly every editorial thread that runs through Paramount Skydance — DTC profitability, Pluto TV consolidation, the company's sports posture (NFL on CBS, UFC), and its post-merger ad-stack ambitions. It's also the service whose subscriber number Wall Street watches as the proxy for whether the Skydance thesis is working.

The Q4 2025 print — 79 million paid subs, DTC swinging to a $230 million full-year operating profit, Paramount+ revenue up 17% — gave David Ellison's team its first credibility data point with investors. The 2026 watch list runs through three vectors: the early-2026 price hike's churn impact, the mid-2026 Pluto TV tech-stack migration, and how the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition (set for a Q3 2026 close) reshapes the competitive set this profile sits inside.

## Tags

- streaming
- svod
- ad-supported
- paramount
- sports
- cbs

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