Amid stern competition from other streaming platforms, Paramount Global is combining two of its services. It will fold Showtime into the Premium tier of Paramount+ later this year. The combined offering will be known as “Paramount+ With Showtime.”
Showtime’s linear TV network will be rebranded with the same name in the US. As part of the move, some Paramount+ original programs will air on the cable network — so maybe more people will finally recognize the brilliance of The Good Fight.
“Now, with Showtime’s content integrated into our flagship streaming service, and select Paramount+ originals joining the linear offering, Paramount+ will become the definitive multiplatform brand in the streaming space — and the first of its kind to integrate streaming and linear content in this way,” Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish said in a memo to staff, as Variety reports. “This change will also drive stronger alignment across our domestic and international Paramount+ offerings, as international Paramount+ already includes Showtime content.”
Showtime debuted its own streaming service in 2015, a year after CBS All Access arrived. The latter was rebranded as Paramount+ in 2021. Last year, Paramount Global integrated Showtime content into its namesake streaming service as part of a bundle. Now, it’s going a step further by unifying them.
While the move may come as a disappointment to those who are only interested in Showtime’s content and aren’t sold on Paramount+, the move makes sense from a business perspective. There’s a wave of consolidation across the media industry, including in streaming, where HBO Max and Discovery+ will combine in the coming months.
Paramount will look to cut some costs and funnel extra resources into its more successful properties amid the transition. Just as news of the streaming merger broke, it emerged that Showtime has canceled American Gigolo and Let The Right One In (a series based on one of the best films of the last 20 years), while it’s reportedly trying to offload a new show called Three Women.
“As a part of Paramount+, we can put more resources into building out the lanes that have made the Showtime brand famous, as well as turning our hit shows into global hit franchises,” Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Showtime and Paramount Media Networks, wrote in a staff memo. “To do this, we will divert investment away from areas that are underperforming and that account for less than 10 percent of our views.”