By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow me on X.
Paramount Plus, the streaming service, has announced that it’s raising new subscriber prices of its ads-free Paramount+ with Showtime plan from $11.99 a month to $12.99 a month. The ads-included Paramount+ Essential monthly plan will also increase by $2 to $7.99. Both increases will be effective for new subscribers on August 20.
Existing Paramount Plus with Showtime subscribers will get the $1 a month increase in the billing cycle on or after September 20. But existing Paramount Plus Essential subscribers will not get an increase nor will current or new annual subscribers of both plans.
This will mark the first time that Paramount+ has raised prices since last summer when the company merged it with Showtime.
Paramount’s increase follows a recent price hike by Max, the streamer formerly known as HBO Max. The Max monthly ads-free plan increased from $15.99 a month to $16.99 a month and the yearly ads-free plan increased $20 a year to $169.99. The Ultimate ads-free Max plan for new subscribers increased $1 a month from $19.99 a month to $20.99 a month and the yearly Ultimate ads-free plan increased by $10 a year to $209.99.
Max’s existing monthly subscribers will see price hikes from their next billing cycle on or after Thursday, July 4, 2024. Current yearly subscribers will not see an increase until renewal.
Peacock, the NBCUniversal-operated streamer, will also raise prices next month. For new customers, Peacock on July 18 will raise the price of its ads-included Peacock Premium plan from $5.99 a month to $7.99 a month and the price of its Peacock Plus plan from $11.99 a month to $13.99 a month. Existing customers will see the increase around August 17. The annual price for the Premium plan will rise from $59.99 to $79.99 while the annual Plus plan will increase from $119.99 to $139.99.
Over the last few years, the video streaming industry has been steadily raising prices and cutting back on programming to offset escalating losses.
The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.
