Paramount+ Joins The Content Purge Are Your Shows Safe?

Paramount+ and Showtime just told Warner Brothers Discovery to hold its beer. No not really. But the streaming service built on content from Paramount Pictures, CBS, Viacom content and its own original shows and movies has begun to follow the blueprint that HBO Max did in yanking its own content from its streaming service.

HBO Max started the trend in 2022 by both locking some content up never to be seen again and pulling other shows and movies that have been since distributed across free streaming platforms like Tubi and The Roku Channel.

In the case of Paramount+, part of the impetuous for the removal is that Paramount+ and Showtime are combining their brands under the Paramount+ app and the Showtime Linear Channel. As of right now both the Channel and the app are expected to be called Paramount+ With Showtime. The company announced that the two Showtime Apps “Showtime” and “Showtime Any Time” will shut down later this year.

Some Paramount+ shows will actually move to Showtime’s linear channel as well. The move has been long expected and will bring Paramount+ With Showtime to 67 million subscribers overall if subscribers to both services stick around.

Where will the shows go next?

The obvious answer is Pluto TV. While the company has not officially said so, the FAST route seems to be the most likely one. Companies have realized that placing programming on free streaming services is a great way to make money on content it already owns. Though it would not be surprising to find canceled content on other streamers. HBO Max made two moves after it pulled content shifting some to Amazon Prime Video and as mentioned before Tubi and the Roku Channel. Basically, if the company feels that a title can make money somewhere it will find a home.

Canceled Shows and Content that has been removed