Paramount+ Platform Set to Replace CBS All Access on March 4, 2021
- Paramount+ has gotten a launch date for the US market, and it’s almost a month away.
- People are invited to grab an annual plan until then and benefit from a massive 50% discount.
- Paramount+ is bound to add more anxiety and fatigue to streaming service consumers, who’re already dealing with a lot.
The end of CBS All Access as we know it has already been decided and announced since last September. Now, we got to learn that its upgraded and enriched replacement, Paramount+, is going to launch in the United States on March 4, 2021.
Nordic countries will get it on March 25, while Canada and Australia are also included in the roll-out plan, but these will get the new service sometime in H2 2021.
Right now, those who are already convinced by the offering, which includes MTV, BET, CBS, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, the Smithsonian Channel, sports events coverage, and originals from the Star Trek and the Spongebob franchise, can sign up for an annual plan and benefit from a limited 50% discount offer. This expires on March 3, 2021, 11:59 GMT, so essentially, you have right before the official launch date to grab the special offer.
As for the subscription cost, this depends on whether you’re willing to watch some commercials or not. The ad-supported plan costs $59.99 per year, while the commercial-free tier is $99.99 per year. If you sign up before March 3, these amounts will be halved, so you’re looking at something between $5 and $8.3 per month. There’s also the option for monthly payments, but these are 15% costlier.
While the above price tags are reasonable, Paramount+ is yet another addition to a pile of streaming services that bombard the content consumer space. ViacomCBS is essentially looking to directly compete with Disney+, HBO Max, and NBCUniversal’s Peacock with an upgraded platform that will stand a better chance than CBS All Access. Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime are also competing for the same pie, even if they’re not similarly oriented.
This is really getting too much for the consumers, but we guess that it’s just a natural way for things to unfold until the space clears up. Until that happens, many people will just hop around getting the best that each service has to offer, engaging in a game of subscribing, canceling, returning, and exiting again. For Paramount+, this is a bet that will play in a year from now, when the initial pool of subscribers will have to decide whether they’ll renew their annual subscriptions or not.