Paramount+ is lowering the price of its ad-supported tier from $5.99 to $4.99 on Monday and giving it the new name of Paramount+ Essential. While the lower price is a plus, there will be some changes that might make you want to sign up now to be grandfathered into the current $5.99 plan.
When the new, lower priced tier goes into effect, new subscribers will be given a choice between the Paramount+ Essential plan for $4.99/month or the premium ad-free plan for $9.99/month.
The lower priced plan will be missing some content. While the ad-free plan will include local and national news coverage with CBSN and a viewer’s local CBS affiliate, the new lower priced plan will only have a national news feed. The more expensive plan will also have more sports coverage and the ability to download content to watch offline. Both plans will give viewers access to thousands of movies and TV episodes, along with Paramount+ original series.
Those who are currently subscribed to Paramount+ at the $5.99 price point will have the option to keep their subscription in place. While the plan is slightly more expensive than the new Paramount+ Essential plan, it will still have all the content and features subscribers currently receive, including the live, local feed of CBS.
New subscribers will not have the option to subscribe to the $5.99 plan and if you’re already a subscriber but opt in to the new, lower priced plan, you won’t be able to switch back. So, if you’ve been thinking about signing up and want to get your local CBS station included in your ad-supported plan, this is the time to sign up.