Everything you need to know about Paramount Plus in Australia

Late 2019, the Viacom-CBS merger fused the power of Paramount Pictures and the TV talents of CBS, creating a single media powerhouse, ViacomCBS. It was just like when Disney acquired Fox but nowhere near as exciting. With their powers combined, the Viacom and CBS partnership came to a climax when the company revealed its new streaming service, Paramount Plus, revealing a teaser for the service during this 2020's Super Bowl.

Yes, there are already too many streaming services in Australia, but thankfully Paramount Plus has replaced an existing streaming service, the woefully inept 10 All Access just like it replaced CBS All Access in the US.

Paramount Plus combines the television shows from CBS with content from the various properties under the wider ViacomCBS banner, including but not limited to Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and MTV.

Paramount Plus is now available in Australia. For new subscribers, there's a 7-day free trial so you can see what the service is all about.

Paramount Plus offers monthly and annual subscription options in Australia. The Standard monthly plan costs $9.99 per month and the annual plan costs $89.99 per year, which works out $7.49 per month (15% off.) That gets you 108op HD streaming and two simultaneous streams. 

In 2023, Paramount Plus also added a Premium plan in Australia. That plan gets you 4K streaming, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atomos Audio on up to four devices for $13.99 per month. You can also subscribe for a year for $124.99, saving yourself $42.89 per year. 

You can either sign-up for a 7-day free trial directly through Paramount Plus or add the service to your Amazon Prime Video account (7-day free trial included.)

Lastly, Paramount Plus also offers a cheaper ad-supported tier at $6.99 per month. That plan offers HD streaming on only one device. We're firm believers that dealing with ads sort of defeats the purpose of an on-demand streaming service so naturally, we don't recommend this cheaper tier if you can help it. 

Paramount Plus offers a 7-day free trial for new subscribers.

After that first week, subscribers will be charged $9.99 for their first month as a customer or $89.99 upfront for the year, depending on which plan they choose.

Compared to services like Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video, the Paramount Plus TV show and movie library is quite thin. There are some great TV shows from Showtime, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon but the library of classic movies isn't comparable to most major streaming services. Take a look below to see how Paramount Plus compares with other major Australian streaming services.

Each Paramount Plussubscription allows for two simultaneous streams at once. That means you and another family members can stream Paramount Plus at the same time without any issues.

Paramount Plus is available to stream on all the usual suspects, like desktop via supported web browsers and smartphones and tablets via the iOS and Android apps but there are a few Australia-specific streaming devices in the mix too. Here's the complete list of compatible devices for Paramount Plus in Australia:

• Desktop (web)
• iPhone and iPads via iOS app (iOS 10 and iOS11+)
• Apple TV Gen 4  and Gen 5 (4K)
• Android app (smartphone and tablet)
• Compatible Android TV devices
• Chromecast
• Compatible Fire TV devices
• Fetch TV
• Telstra TV
• Samsung Smart TV (2017 or later)

Here in Australia, Paramount Plus launched with prominent TV shows, such as Twin Peaks and Dexter, many that were previously available on Stan locally. Standout Comedy Central series like Nathan For You and Detroiters were also previously available on Stan but have found a new home on Paramount Plus in Australia.

In addition to those popular TV shows, Paramount Plus launched with a small collection of original TV shows created exclusively for the service, including Aussie comedy-drama Five Bedrooms and the SpongeBob SquarePants prequel series Kamp Koral.

Since it first launched, Paramount Plus has released a number of hit television shows. Here's a short list of its most popular offerings: 

• The Curse (2023)
• The Gilded Age
• Fellow Travelers
• Ghosts
• NCIS: Sydney
• Yellowjackets
• Lawmen: Bass Reeves
• 1923
• Survivor
• Frasier
• Tulsa King
• 1883
• Halo
• Star Trek: Lower Decks

While Paramount Plus has gained popularity thanks to its original and exclusive TV shows, its movie collection instead relies on the company's library of classics and recent theatrical releases. 

There are over 600 movies available on Paramount Plus at the time of writing, the most popular of which include Top Gun, The Crimes of Grindelwald, The Godfather, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Paw Patrol: The Movie and Crazy Rich Asians. 

Here's a quick look at some of the more recent movies added to Paramount Plus in Australia: 

• Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
• Top Gun Maverick
• Babylon
• Scream VI
• Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

Unlike its TV fare, CBSViacom has maintained its distribution deals with other streaming services. Top Gun, for example, is also available on Binge, Foxtel Now and Stan, and The Godfather can be streamed on Binge, Amazon Prime Video and Stan too. 

All this is to say that you probably won't be subscribing to Paramount Plus for the movies alone, especially if you're already signed up for a number of streaming services. 

Prior to launch, ViacomCBS revealed an exclusive five-year partnership with the A-League and W-League that would see every match of both leagues streamed live on the paid Paramount Plus service. On free-to-air, there is one A-League match every Saturday on Channel 10 and one W-League match every Sunday on 10Bold during regular seasons. Both weekly matches are then syndicated to Network 10's digital catch-up service, 10Play. In addition to the A-League and W-League, Paramount Plus also has the rights to stream Socceroos and Matildas matches.

This makes Paramount Plussomething of a competitor for other Australian sports streaming services, such as Stan Sport, Kayo Sport and Optus Sport.