Netflix and Paramount+ are teaming up for the first time — kind of. Verizon Wireless is offering U.S. customers a discounted rate to bundle Netflix Premium and Paramount+ With Showtime. The combined price of $25.99 per month represents about a 20% savings off the regular retail price of the two services. It’s also a way to combine the highest quality, ad-free tiers of both streamers into one package. Netflix Premium, which includes up to four simultaneous streams and picture quality up to 4K Ultra HD, generally goes for $19.99/month. Paramount+ With Showtime will launch later this month at a rate of $11.99.
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The offer is only available for a limited time and will run through Verizon’s +play hub, which typically offers bundle deals for brands that work with Verizon. It is not unheard of for Verizon to get competitors to play nice in the name of mutual profit, but up to this point, Netflix and Paramount Global have not thrown in together.
“With partners like Netflix and Paramount+ With Showtime on +play, we’re leading the industry in offering customers the content they want in completely new formats, with never-before-seen bundles they can’t get anywhere else,” Erin McPherson, Verizon Consumer Group’s chief content officer, said (via Variety, who first reported the deal).
“This new and distinctive streaming bundle on Verizon’s +play is yet another example of our commitment to offering consumers universal distribution and industry-leading deals,” Jeff Shultz, Paramount Streaming’s chief strategy officer and chief business development officer said. “By partnering with Verizon, we are making our broad and popular streaming offering on Paramount+ With Showtime just that more accessible.”
Verizon’s +play portal includes more than 30 services — not just limited to TV and movies, but also inclusive of sports, education, lifestyle and fitness programming. It’s available to all of Verizon’s mobile, 5G Home and LTE Home Internet customers.
The Paramount+/Showtime team up was announced back in January by Paramount CEO Bob Bakish. The change applies only in the United States.
“Showtime has captivated audiences for decades with ambitious original series that defined premium content and fandom,” Bakish wrote. “Its name will always stand for critically acclaimed, groundbreaking entertainment and creative excellence. 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.”
