Yet another streaming service is launching in the UK and Ireland, and this time, the honour goes to Paramount+, which makes its debut today (Wednesday, June 22).
Originally launched to US audiences way back in 2014 (when it was then known as CBS All Access), Paramount+ is home to a host of original programming, from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to drag singing competition Queen of the Universe (both of which have been renewed for a second season).
Paramount+ customers in the UK and Ireland can also enjoy Showtime programming at launch including Chiwetel Ejiofor's The Man Who Fell to Earth TV series and The First Lady, starring Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson. Movies will include recent releases like the new Scream film to classics from the Paramount library (including lots of Star Trek movies).
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And if you or someone in your household has a yearning desire to watch a lot of Paw Patrol, then this will be available on Paramount+ from launch as well.
Paramount Plus free trial in the UK
It's also been confirmed that Paramount+ *will* have a free trial at launch in the UK, so you can test out the service to see if it's for you before committing to paid membership. (Or you can just spend seven days watching SpongeBob SquarePants, if you prefer.)
Potential customers in the UK can take up a free seven-day trial, and after that, pricing for Paramount+ will be £6.99 per month or £69.90 per year in the UK. Pricing for Ireland is yet to be confirmed.
You can now sign up from launch day, June 22, in the UK and Ireland, and new customers will get the 7-day free trial applied automatically on registration.
Sign up for Paramount+ (in the US – UK and Ireland launch from June 22)
UK customers will be able to watch Paramount+ online, on their mobiles, or via "a wide range of connected TV devices via the Paramount+ app".
You'll also be able to access Paramount+ via Apple, Amazon, Google, Roku and Samsung's platforms, with more "to be announced in the coming months".
Paramount Plus on Sky in the UK
Paramount and Sky have both confirmed that Paramount+ TV and film programming will be available to Sky Cinema subscribers "at no extra cost" in the UK. You'll be able to access Paramount+ content via a standalone app if you're a Sky Q or Sky Glass customer.
The service will also launch on Sky in Ireland, plus Italy, Germany and Austria, this year "as part of a new multi-year distribution agreement that also includes the extended carriage of Paramount's leading portfolio of pay TV channels".
NOW customers will not be able to access the Paramount+ app, but can view selected programming, as Sky added that "NOW Cinema members will be able to stream brand new Paramount blockbusters through Sky Cinema and enjoy a library of Paramount's films on demand at no additional cost".
Paramount Plus for Amazon Prime members in the UK
If you're an Amazon Prime member, you can sign up for Paramount+ via Prime Video Channels, if you prefer.
Amazon Prime membership is priced at £7.99 per month or £79 per year in the UK, and new customers can take up a 30-day free trial. It opens up perks including premium delivery options, Prime Music, access to exclusive Amazon Prime Day deals, live coverage of selected Premier League games, and original programming from The Boys to The Green Knight via The Marvelous Mrs Maisel.
When adding Paramount+ as a Prime Video Channel, you can take up the usual week-long free trial and then pay on a monthly basis priced at £6.99 per month.
Paramount Plus free trial in the US
If you're in the US and you aren't already signed up for Paramount+, then you can also take advantage of a 7-day free trial as a new customer. Sometimes extended free trial offers run in the US – a promotion for 30 days of the service closed just a couple of days ago on June 20.
There are two pricing tiers in the US. The Essential tier ($4.99 per month or $49.99 per year) is ad-supported and you can also access live sport like the NFL and UEFA Champions League, round-the-clock news from CBSN, plus "tens of thousands of episodes and movies".
The Premium tier costs $9.99 per month, or $99.99 per year. It has very limited ads (which Paramount notes you may see in "live TV and a few shows"), all the benefits of the Essential tier, plus access to your local CBS station live, and the ability to download shows to watch later on.
If you want to add Showtime, that will cost you more in the US. An Essential + Showtime package, giving you the benefits of that network's original programming, movies and sports, costs $11.99 per month, or $119.99 per year.
Alternatively, for $14.99 per month, or $149.99 per year, you can sign up for Premium + Showtime.
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Kate (they/she) is a freelance writer, editor, digital editorial trainer and data technician who first joined Digital Spy as an overnight freelance sub-editor in January 2011, after studying a postgraduate diploma in journalism at Salford University while working part-time as a social researcher.
In July 2013, Kate joined the DS staff team as chief sub-editor and following six years as the site's managing editor, their role expanded to incorporate Hearst UK's entertainment portfolio (including Digital Spy and its sibling titles Best and Inside Soap) between late 2024 and early 2026.
Kate has worked as a writer and editor since 2006, with bylines syndicated across the Hearst network and at organisations including Metro. They started their career as a TV production runner for the BBC and contributed to various music websites, blogs and zines while based in Manchester.
During her time at DS, Kate has previously been a freelance sub-editor and chief sub-editor.
Kate's team at Digital Spy were proudly nominated in the Best Subbing/Production Team category at the BSME Talent Awards 2022. Over the years, she has contributed to coverage of many, many Prime Days and Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and was part of the team that launched the DS weekly TV newsletter in November 2019 – followed by the Top of the Shops e-commerce newsletter in May 2024.
Kate's screen passions include Taskmaster (their biggest career regret remains turning down the opportunity to visit the house), nature documentaries, and live sport (up there with the greatest of all soap operas although if asked to choose, it's Corrie… every time).
Her highlights while working at DS have included interviewing Stevie Nicks on the red carpet for her documentary In Your Dreams, sitting at a press roundtable with Formula 1 commentary icon Murray Walker, watching a life-sized LEGO car being driven around Silverstone, writing an album-by-album retrospective of Lady Gaga's genre-defying career for Living Legends, and raising awareness of receiving and understanding a late-in-life ADHD diagnosis through the lens of Bianca and Freddie's EastEnders storyline.
Upon remembering to log off the internet, Kate enjoys live theatre, dance and comedy, appreciating nature, baking (badly), tending a recently-rented allotment (equally badly) and pampering one very spoiled rescue cat named Jolene.
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