Showtime Rebrands To Paramount+ With Showtime January 8

Nearly a year after Paramount announced that Showtime would be integrated into Paramount+ across linear and streaming, a completion date has been set. 

After nearly 48 years, Showtime will be deemphasized as the Paramount+ with Showtime rebrand arrives on the linear channel on January 8, 2024. It is the final move to come from the integration after Showtime’s direct-to-consumer service merged with Paramount+’s premium tier to bear the same Paramount+ with Showtime name, which happened in June, and was followed by its TV Everywhere app Showtime Anytime shutting down on Thursday and the standalone Showtime app and the Showtime Sports division closing at the end of the year. The rebranding’s marketing campaign also began Monday.

Apparently, some subscribers of the linear Showtime channel will not have automatic access to the Paramount+ With Showtime streaming plan. Instead, they’ll be left with watching through the authenticated streaming apps of pay-TV partners. Some agreements with the larger pay-TV providers are in place, though the specifics have not been shared.

As far as programming, some Paramount+ originals will be hopping aboard immediately, so there’s no “in-name-only” sort of lull. These programs include all existing seasons of Halo, including season 2 when it premieres in February, plus Mayor of Kingstown (which has been renewed for season 3), Star Trek: Discovery final season premiering on P+ in April) and Wolf Pack. In addition, the new Paramount+ original series Sexy Beast, prequel to the 2000 film of the same name, will be available linearly on the network. It premieres on the service on January 25. The Showtime series that will survive on the schedule are Fellow Travelers, The Chi, The Curse, Yellowjackets and Your Honor. The network also still has original series, like its co-production with the BBC The Woman in the Wall, with its stateside launch apparently timed to the rebrand following its August British premiere, A Gentleman in Moscow starring husband and wife Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and The Department executive-produced by George Clooney.

Paramount says this “aligns the brand with the Paramount+ With Showtime plan, a cornerstone integration for the streaming service, making this the first of its kind multiplatform brand that integrates streaming and linear content.”

Source: Variety (original press release)