January 12, 2025, 8:55 am | Read time: 4 minutes
Advertising has now become an established feature of the vast majority of streaming services. Paramount+ is one of the few providers that does not yet have a corresponding subscription in its portfolio. That could change soon.
After the initial uproar when Netflix introduced its advertising subscription in 2022, low-cost subscriptions with commercials are now standard with the major streaming services. The deal: customers pay less but have to put up with ad breaks from time to time while streaming. Paramount+ used to be one of the few well-known services without a corresponding subscription. However, the provider has now amended its terms and conditions, paving the way for an advertising subscription. TECHBOOK explains the details.
Paramount+ Seems Poised to Introduce Advertising
Customers of the streaming service Paramount+ are currently being informed about a change to the general terms and conditions. These have been in force since January 7, 2025, and provide for some changes. Paragraph 4c is particularly interesting in this regard. It states:
All content and subscriptions to the Service may contain promotional trailers for other content on the Paramount+ Service, advertising, sponsorship and product placement, the frequency, extent and nature of which may vary over time depending on the type of subscription you take out and/or the content you view. Subscriptions that are labeled ad-free will still contain commercial breaks in live content.
This opens the door for Paramount+ to potentially incorporate advertising into its platform going forward. The terms and conditions also state that users may not stop ads from being displayed, for example, with the help of ad blockers.
Standard Practice
Other streaming services, such as Disney+, are preparing to introduce advertising subscriptions in a similar way. Anyone who still uses an ad blocker must expect their subscription to be canceled. If users do not agree to the new terms and conditions and prefer to cancel their contract, they can do so until the next billing date.
Paramount+ has not yet officially announced a subscription with advertising. However, in view of the explicit change to the regulations, it should only be a matter of time. However, this only applies to Germany. A corresponding tariff already exists in the USA, for example. This provides a glimpse of how Paramount+ could set up the new subscription structure in this country – and, above all, at what prices.
Paramount+ Without Ads Likely to Cost More Going Forward
In the USA, Paramount+ subscribers have already had the option of booking the so-called “Essential” tariff since June 2023. This costs USD 7.99 per month and includes “a limited number of commercial breaks.” The subscription without advertising costs USD 12.99 per month with Paramount+.
This could easily be transferred to the German market. Here, the only subscription available costs 7.99 euros per month. Those who book an annual subscription directly pay 79.90 euros, which corresponds to around 6.65 euros per month.
Paramount+ will probably stick to this price with the introduction of the advertising subscription but will then charge extra for a tariff without advertising. Amazon Prime Video has done something similar, although you don’t book a subscription with the service but rather an additional ad-free package. Netflix, on the other hand, introduced its advertising subscription at a significantly lower price and then gradually raised the prices for the other packages or, for example, canceled the basic subscription completely.
In some countries, including France and Mexico, there is also a premium subscription. This costs an average of €10.99 per month and offers improved streaming quality. Such a multi-level subscription model would also be conceivable.
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Flexible Subscription Changes Possible
However, it is not known exactly how Paramount+ intends to proceed in Germany. The changes to the terms and conditions do, however, provide a few more details. For example, users should be able to upgrade or downgrade their subscription during the term of their contract in order to switch between a tariff with and without advertising. However, any discounts will expire. Anyone who upgrades their subscription during a trial period can make the change immediately. However, anyone who wants to switch to the cheaper option within the trial period can only do so after the period has expired.
The streaming service plans to enforce stricter regulations on its trial subscriptions. In the future, users will only be able to use such promotions once. Multiple registrations, for example, using different names or email addresses, are explicitly excluded from the terms and conditions.