Paramount+ is set to increase prices... again

Paramount is the latest service to hike prices as the streaming wars continue to rage among networks

Paramount+ users will see a price hike beginning in late September, according to the streaming service's parent company, Paramount Global.

The company announced on Monday that the price of Paramount+ with Showtime will increase by $1 to $12.99 a month, and Paramount+ Essential will increase by $2 to $7.99 a month for subscribers.

The price increases will go into effect on August 20 for new subscribers, while existing subscribers won't notice the change until September 20 or later, CNBC reports.

The last time Paramount+ increased its prices was in June 2023 after it added Showtime to its service.

Paramount is the latest streaming service to hike prices as the streaming wars continue to rage among networks.

NBCUniversal's parent company, Comcast, said in July that it planned to raise Peacock prices before the Summer Olympics, which will air exclusively on NBC broadcasting and its streaming service. The price hike will be the second this year for Peacock.

Peacock's ad-supported option will increase by $2 to $7.99 a month, and it's ad-free option will rise by the same amount to $13.99 a month. An annual subscription to the streaming platform will cost $79.99 with ads, or $139.999 for ad-free.

The streaming service’s price increases begin for new subscribers on July 18, just before the Summer Olympics, and for existing subscribers on August 17 or after.

Paramount+ is set to increase prices... again (Getty Images)

Warner Bros Discovery also announced in May that it planned to increase the price of its Max streaming service.

Max's ad-free option will increase by $1 per month to $16.99, and the annual ad-free plan will increase by $20 to $169.99. The cost of the ultimate ad-free plan will increase by $1 to $20.99, and the annual ultimate plan will increase by $10 to $209.99 annually.

The ad-supported Max options will remain at $9.99 a month or $99.99 per year.

Combination and packages have been the name of the game for streaming services trying to attract customers; Hulu and Disney+ began offering a combined package in March, and Showtime combined with Paramount+ last year. Warner Bros and Discovery combined HBO's library with Discovery+'s offerings last May.

In May it was announced that another streaming bundle — harking back to a traditional cable TV package — will be available this summer, parent companies Disney, Warner Bros, and Discovery announced on Wednesday.

The bundle, made up of Disney+, Hulu, and Max, will include content from ABC, CNN, Food Network, Discovery, FX, HBO, and HGTV and have both ad-supported and ad-free options.

“This new offering delivers for consumers the greatest collection of entertainment for the best value in streaming, and will help drive incremental subscribers and much stronger retention,” JB Perrette, CEO and president of Global Streaming and Games at Warner Bros Discovery said, in a statement.

Pricing for the new bundle has not yet been released however the option will be discounted, a source told CNBC.

Despite growing its subscriber count by 3.7 million in its first quarter and boasting 71 million subscribers, Paramount still reported first-quarter losses for its Paramount+ service. The streaming service earned $511m the previous year during the same period and is down this year to $286m in the first quarter.