The rollout of new budget and premium price plans for Paramount+ continues in 2024, with Paramount confirming timelines for the UK and Europe.
- France becomes first European country to get new premium tier of Paramount+, with improved picture quality
- Basic “with ads” tier arriving next month in Canada
- Paramount+ Premium confirmed for UK and Ireland, but no timeline for basic, “with ads” plan.
Paramount has confirmed the next stages of its rollout of new price plans. Following the launch of its new Premium tier in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico, it’s now bringing the plan to Europe.
France will become the European testbed for Paramount+ Premium. The Premium tier will offer subscribers access to 4K UHD, HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Users will be able to stream on four different devices at the same time. The Premium plan goes on sale this month in France for €10.99 a month.
Meanwhile, its new budget-friendly basic with ads tier is about to launch in Canada (April) and Australia (June 2024). The basic with ads tier will go on sale for C$6.99 / A$6.99 in the respective countries.
By launching these new plans, Paramount+ is very much following the lead set by Netflix and mirrored by Disney+ with near identical price plans now offered by most big streaming services.
Premium rollout in UK and Ireland this year
Paramount+ subscribers in the UK and Ireland will also join French subscribers in having the option to upgrade to Premium.
This will finally open up access to 4K UHD and HDR.
Pricing and exact timings haven’t been confirmed, but Paramount confirmed today that Paramount+ Premium will roll out to users in the UK and Ireland “later this year”.
Paramount+ Premium will also launch in Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland before the end of 2024.
However, for those hoping to save some money on a Paramount+ subscription, so far Paramount hasn’t committed to a rollout timeline for its cheaper basic ad-tier in Europe just yet.
Marco Nobili,EVP and International General Manager of Paramount+, commented:
“The ‘Premium’ tier has demonstrated great success in Canada, Australia and Latin America, and I am confident this offering will enable us to reach new subscribers in Europe, as well. As we launch ‘Basic (with ads)’ in our international markets, we can also offer our incredible content at an even more competitive price to ultimately increase our reach and expand our advertising offerings to partners. The ‘Basic’ tier allows us to continue to lead on value by providing consumers an even more affordable entertainment choice for the entire family.”
In addition to launching a Premium Paramount+ plan later this year, Paramount plans to combine its free streaming services from Pluto TV and My5 into one platform.
Marc Thornham
[Image – Paramount+, Paramount Global]