New Paramount Plus Service Will Be Loaded

[silverscreenselect]

I was skeptical about the new Paramount Plus streaming service that was heavily promoted during the Super Bowl. I thought it would be pretty much the same as CBS All Access with a few extra Paramount library titles (like the Godfather films) thrown in. But it's not. They just announced a highly ambitious rollout of new series, and the base price of $4.99 a month (with ads) is less that the current CBS All Access Price of $5.99 a month. Among the offerings on the new channel:

--Most Paramount theatrical releases will be on Paramount Plus within 30 days of release. Tentpole pictures like Mission Impossible and Top Gun will be available 45 days after theatrical release. Their film library currently numbers about 2500 titles, and they have a deal with Epix that will show Epix programming on Paramount Plus before it goes to Epix.
--A new Star Trek series featuring Captain Pike and Mr. Spock. The existing Star Trek series will also continue.
--New series based on Flashdance, The Italian Job (featuring the grandchildren of Michael Caine's character), The Parallax View, Love Story, Halo (the video game), and The Man Who Fell to Earth. There will also be a prequel series based on Grease and a docu-miniseries about the making of The Godfather.
--Both a prequel to Yellowstone set in the 1800s featuring the ancestors of the Dutton family and a new spinoff series from Taylor Sheridan about another very large modern-day ranch and the people who run it.
--Reboots of Frasier (with Kelsey Grammer) and Criminal Minds. The Good Fight will also be back.

They also have a heavy lineup of reality and children's programming. One show that will not be back is the new Twilight Zone from Jordan Peele, which has been canceled.

https://deadline.com/2021/02/paramount- ... 234700647/

[triviawayne]

Wondering what everyone's thoughts are on the way TV is going these days.

For years, so many people I knew would say they wish they could have ala carte cable so they aren't paying for channels they don't watch. I told them they don't want that as they would be paying just as much if not more when that would happen, and some hard choices would need to be made.

Now we do have that with streaming, and all these services are at really low prices, even with the commercials thrown in. I'm thinking how can they make any money by selling us these services this cheap.

With all that in mind, my feeling is they are basically giving us all teaser rates, and as more people cut the cord and go all streaming, and are required to budget their streaming services to get what they want most, the prices will rocket up. Anyone else think that's what's coming?

Yes, all things go up with inflation, don't come in and say, "well duh, all prices go up over time". What I'm asking about is if you think the prices will very much outpace inflation the way cable and healthcare does once we're all locked in to streaming?

[earendel]

Wondering what everyone's thoughts are on the way TV is going these days.

I've said this before - I hate the way that TV is going. I would go broke trying to keep up with all the streaming services that have shows I want to watch - HBO Max, Disney+, Paramount+, Netflix, Amazon Prime. Apple TV, YouTube TV, and Discovery+, and I'm sure there are others out there. I've noticed this on J! lately - they have TV categories and I don't recognize a single program in the category. I wonder if the fragmentation of TV isn't a reflection of the fragmentation of our society.

[MarkBarrett]

Being able to watch my "local" CBS affiliate is the most important thing about the service no matter its name.

Even though I live in San Francisco I like being able to watch Jeopardy! at 10 Pacific in the morning out of Mississippi. I've been on the plan of paying $60 in a lump sum for a year and have always got my money's worth.

[silverscreenselect]

Being able to watch my "local" CBS affiliate is the most important thing about the service no matter its name.

That's the one difference between Paramount Plus and CBS All Access some people may not like. The $5 a month plan does not include local CBS channels. People who have existing CBS All Access will be grandfathered in if they keep paying the $6 a month. Others can see the network broadcasts live, like the NFL game in that area or the current episode of NCIS, but they can't watch the local 6:00 news.

[Bob Juch]

Being able to watch my "local" CBS affiliate is the most important thing about the service no matter its name.

That's the one difference between Paramount Plus and CBS All Access some people may not like. The $5 a month plan does not include local CBS channels. People who have existing CBS All Access will be grandfathered in if they keep paying the $6 a month. Others can see the network broadcasts live, like the NFL game in that area or the current episode of NCIS, but they can't watch the local 6:00 news.

I can watch my local news live on the web page of the NBC affiliate.

Yesterday I was glad I hadn't taken AT&T up on their new service to replace cable with the same channels via Internet. Comcast has the same thing. My Internet was out for over three hours in the middle of the day, but my cable remained on.

[silverscreenselect]

I've noticed this on J! lately - they have TV categories and I don't recognize a single program in the category.

I'm well aware of this in regard to the movie releases. Most years, I've seen almost every film nominated in a major category by the time the awards show air. This year, of the films nominated for Golden Globes (including the individual performer categories), I've seen 15 out of 24, which I'm sure is higher than most people but well below what I usually get to see. And that's only because we saw Nomadland on Hulu last weekend.

I haven't been to a movie in an indoor theater since March of last year (I did see about a dozen movies at the drive-in). Previously, I would see 2-4 films a week (and I was looking forward to catching more weekday matinees in my retirement). Needless to say, we haven't renewed our movie pass for 2021 and we didn't get much use out of it in 2020 (it's a charity so I don't feel too bad). We subscribe to HBO Max, Disney+, Amazon Prime, CBS All Access, Peacock (the premium version), and Hulu.

And for those who don't want to pay, there are free services available: Crackle, Tubi, Pluto, IMDb TV, the Roku Channel (if you own a Roku), and the free version of Peacock. All of these have varying amounts of recent and vintage TV series, film libraries, and a handful of original series and movies. Pluto TV actually has a "broadcast" version in which shows and movies continuously stream on dozens of channels. So if you want to watch Baywatch, you can tune in the Baywatch channel and see whatever episode of Baywatch is on now (in progress).

[triviawayne]

Wondering what everyone's thoughts are on the way TV is going these days.

I've said this before - I hate the way that TV is going. I would go broke trying to keep up with all the streaming services that have shows I want to watch - HBO Max, Disney+, Paramount+, Netflix, Amazon Prime. Apple TV, YouTube TV, and Discovery+, and I'm sure there are others out there. I've noticed this on J! lately - they have TV categories and I don't recognize a single program in the category. I wonder if the fragmentation of TV isn't a reflection of the fragmentation of our society.

Those that own the TV channels are and have been purposely fragmenting the audience for years - part of why we have so many channels, and why prices have gone up so much. They want that fragmentation for the purpose of targeted advertising.

[triviawayne]

Being able to watch my "local" CBS affiliate is the most important thing about the service no matter its name.

That's the one difference between Paramount Plus and CBS All Access some people may not like. The $5 a month plan does not include local CBS channels. People who have existing CBS All Access will be grandfathered in if they keep paying the $6 a month. Others can see the network broadcasts live, like the NFL game in that area or the current episode of NCIS, but they can't watch the local 6:00 news.

WELL CRAP!!!!

Jeopardy is the only reason I have CBS All Access, and it is nice to see 60 minutes. Since on live TV, I can't stop the commercials, I pay the lower rate anyway. Grandfathered usually means it will go away at some point.

Will the commercial free ($9.99 tier) of Paramount allow for local station watching? Any idea if there will be something separate for watching CBS local stations?

[silverscreenselect]

Will the commercial free ($9.99 tier) of Paramount allow for local station watching? Any idea if there will be something separate for watching CBS local stations?

This is from CBS:

If you're an existing CBS All Access subscriber, don't worry — you won't miss a moment. We'll seamlessly transfer your subscription to Paramount+ on March 4 so you can continue to stream all your favorite shows, movies, originals and live TV. Just sign in at paramountplus.com or on the Paramount+ app with the same email address and password you used to sign up for CBS All Access. No, the existing CBS All Access app will switch to Paramount+. You may need to sign in again with the email address and password you used to sign up for CBS All Access.

At launch, the following plans will be available:

Limited Commercials. Stream with limited commercial interruptions for $5.99/month or $59.99/year.
Commercial Free. Watch with zero ads for just $9.99/month or $99.99/year. Please note that live TV streams have commercials, and a few shows include brief promotional interruptions to keep you in the loop on new and upcoming Paramount+ programming.

Heads-up that later this year, the current Limited Commercials plan will be discontinued, and a new $4.99/month (plus applicable tax) plan that does not include access to your live CBS station will be introduced. This will not affect current subscribers unless you cancel and resubscribe after this plan is introduced. At that time, you’ll only be able to choose between the new $4.99/month plan with limited commercials and without the ability to stream your local live CBS station, or the existing Commercial Free plan. The exact date will be announced as it gets closer.

The way it sounds, the $10 plan will include the local channels same as before. If you have the current plan, you can keep it as is or discontinue, rescubscribe and save a dollar but lose the ability to live stream local programming. Also, some of the new sports programming on Paramount Plus (presumably some of the soccer matches) will not be available for live streaming on the $5 plan. If you have CBS on an existing cable or satellite plan, you'll be able to download a new CBS app and live stream local shows on that app after March 4.

[MarkBarrett]

Thank you SSS for the clarifying post about how the switch be implemented and what it entails.

[triviawayne]

Thank you SSS for the clarifying post about how the switch be implemented and what it entails.

yes, thank you.

I guess I'll keep everything as I have it and just use a new URL when the time comes. If they ever get rid of what I got, looks like my price goes up to get what I need.

[mrkelley23]

Am I correct in remembering that local channels are still available for free over a digital antenna? I mean, I know it's still true here in Evansville but I don't know if that holds for the rest of the country. Might be a workable solution to the local channels conundrum.

[triviawayne]

Am I correct in remembering that local channels are still available for free over a digital antenna? I mean, I know it's still true here in Evansville but I don't know if that holds for the rest of the country. Might be a workable solution to the local channels conundrum.

Not in my area.

Cable wasn’t invented to sell you programming, it was invented to sell TVs. It was invented in Allentown, PA when a cable was run from the top of South Mountain to receive signals at an electronics store for something to display on the TVs. Then customers wanted to be hooked up, Service Electric Cable TV was born.

Still no OTA signals in my area.

[Bob Juch]

I finally gave in and subscribed to Apple TV+ and just watched Greyhound. WOW! I'd call it a rollercoaster ride, but there were just a few intervals when they were going up the hill before zooming down.

Tom Hanks wrote it and did a fantastic job of playing the lead. I hope he finally makes a movie where he promotes himself beyond captain, maybe general or admiral next time.

[Bob Juch]

I finally gave in and subscribed to Apple TV+ and just watched Greyhound. WOW! I'd call it a rollercoaster ride, but there were just a few intervals when they were going up the hill before zooming down.

Tom Hanks wrote it and did a fantastic job of playing the lead. I hope he finally makes a movie where he promotes himself beyond captain, maybe general or admiral next time.

[silverscreenselect]

Am I correct in remembering that local channels are still available for free over a digital antenna? I mean, I know it's still true here in Evansville but I don't know if that holds for the rest of the country. Might be a workable solution to the local channels conundrum.

Not in my area.

Cable wasn’t invented to sell you programming, it was invented to sell TVs. It was invented in Allentown, PA when a cable was run from the top of South Mountain to receive signals at an electronics store for something to display on the TVs. Then customers wanted to be hooked up, Service Electric Cable TV was born.

Still no OTA signals in my area.

When our local NBC station was removed from DirecTV, we added a Roku channel called Locast so we could watch Jeopardy. It's a "free" service that is available in about 30 markets. It carries all the local channels (including digital subchannels) available in that market and you just click on the current offering for a channel and start watching. The catch is that, although the service is free, they pester you to make a monthly donation of $5 or more by breaking into the broadcast every 15 minutes or so for a very loud commercial that you can't avoid. The only way to avoid that commercial, which replaces a minute or two of your programming, is to make the donation. Fortunately, the parties resolved their differences so we didn't have to use Locast any more.

From a legal perspective, I'm not sure what the difference is between Locast and Aereo, a similar service that was shut down a few years back after the Supreme Court found their operation violated copyright laws. Not surprisingly, Locast is currently a defendant in a number of lawsuits alleging copyright infringement and calling the service indistinguishable from Aereo.

Somewhat surprisingly, AT&T has come out in favor of Locast in these lawsuits. That's not really being altruistic on their part. When the local NBC and, later, ABC channels went off AT&T Uverse and DirecTV during their dispute, AT&T "helpfully" let viewers know about the availability of Locast (including how to sign up) as an alternative to try to deflect public pressure from them during the dispute.

[silverscreenselect]

--Both a prequel to Yellowstone set in the 1800s featuring the ancestors of the Dutton family and a new spinoff series from Taylor Sheridan about another very large modern-day ranch and the people who run it.

Paramount has announced that the Yellowstone prequel, entitled 1883, will star Sam Elliott, Faith Hill, and Tim McGraw. Hill and McGraw will play the great(?)-grandparents of Kevin Costner's character, while Elliott plays a cowboy who leads a group of settlers, including the Duttons, from Texas to Montana.