FILE-In this photo illustration, Paramount+ (Paramount Plus) logo is seen on a smartphone against its website in the background. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
null - Paramount Global will soon start charging more for its namesake streaming platform.
The company said on Monday that prices for new monthly subscribers to Paramount+ with Showtime and Paramount+ Essential will increase come Aug. 20.
New members will pay $7.99 per month for Paramount+ Essential, a $2 increase. Those already subscribed to the ad-supported tier will get to keep the current $5.99 monthly fee, according to Paramount Global.
Paramount+ with Showtime will climb by $1 to $12.99 a month for new members.
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The increase for current Paramount+ with Showtime customers will take effect the next time they have to pay their bill on or after Sept. 20.
The Paramount+ with Showtime offering has been available for roughly a year, since the company combined Paramount+ and Showtime content.
FILE-A TV remote control is seen with Paramount+ logo displayed on a screen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on February 6, 2022. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The price of its Limited Commercial Plan will increase $1 to $7.99 per month, Paramount said Monday.
However, the cost of annual Paramount+ with Showtime and Paramount+ Essential subscriptions will not change from their respective $119.99 and $59.99 levels.
Paramount Global’s direct-to-consumer unit brought in about $1.88 billion in revenue during its most recent quarter, including $1.36 billion from subscriptions.
The company has been working to make its direct-to-consumer business, which includes BET+ and Pluto TV in addition to Paramount+, profitable for some time. In the first quarter, its adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization was a $286 million loss, marking a 44% improvement.
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Paramount launched Paramount+ in 2021, and it has since amassed more than 71 million subscribers as it competes with other streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+, Hulu and Max.
Netflix, the leader in the sector, prices its ad-supported plan at $6.99 per month in the U.S., its standard ad-free plan at $15.49 and its premium ad-free plan at $22.99.
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