SHOWTIME Review 2024: Cost, Plans, and More

Is SHOWTIME good?

We think SHOWTIME^® is good for boxing fans, A24 film geeks, and lovers of cult “prestige” TV, like Dexter and Yellowjackets. But even current subscribers might want to reconsider their subscriptions—you might be missing out on bonus content.

You have two options for SHOWTIME: You can either purchase it for $10.99/mo. as an add-on through your favorite cable or live TV streaming service, or you can subscribe to the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME bundle for just a dollar more. The former gets you access to the SHOWTIME Anytime app, and the latter rolls all of your favorite SHOWTIME titles into the Paramount+ app.

New to SHOWTIME? We recommend subscribing if you enjoy indie films, horror-thrillers, and dark-horse TV series over the ones everyone watches. And that’s not including everything you also get with Paramount+.

• Acclaimed movies and shows
• Live boxing and MMA events
• Money-saving bundle with Paramount+

• No longer available as a standalone service

Jump to:

• Current deals
• Plans and pricing
• SHOWTIME vs. the competition
• SHOWTIME shows and movies
• Specs and features

SHOWTIME deals and promotions

New SHOWTIME customers can get a free 30-day trial on à la carte SHOWTIME through a cable provider or another streaming service, or through Paramount+ with the code NEWHOME.

We think the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan is already a great deal, though, especially for fans of Nickelodeon, CBS, and Star Trek.

SHOWTIME plans and pricing

Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

While SHOWTIME as a cable add-on is technically cheaper, you’ll get access to an entire other streaming service (Paramount+) for just a dollar more. That’s one of the best deals currently available in streaming TV.

SHOWTIME vs. the competition

Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

The ad-free Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan is a pretty good deal for just $11.99/mo. For comparison, the HBO/Discovery+ amalgamation known as Max charges $15.99/mo. for its ad-free plan, and the ad-free Disney Bundle (Hulu/Disney+/ESPN+) charges $24.99/mo..

However, if you’re not interested in Paramount+ at all, you can always purchase SHOWTIME as a cable or live TV streaming add-on. We recommend checking out Hulu, which offers a 30-day SHOWTIME free trial.

Shows and movies on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME

SHOWTIME boasts several popular original series, including Yellowjackets, Billions, and Dexter. If TV isn’t your jam, it also offers a pretty sizable library of popular movies, including award-winning A24 films like Pearl, The Whale, and Everything Everywhere All At Once. If you like horror-thrillers, drama, and the occasional documentary, SHOWTIME is for you.

Paramount+ adds to the SHOWTIME experience, balancing out the edgier SHOWTIME library with kid-friendly Nickelodeon titles and classic CBS sitcoms, as well as its own library of original content like 1883 and School Spirits. You can even tune into a live CBS news feed.

Unfortunately, Paramount+ does have a history of removing original content with little to no warning (RIP, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies), so don’t wait to watch shows that catch your eye.

Shows on SHOWTIME (partial list)

• Billions
• Californication
• Catching Lightning
• Couples Therapy
• Dexter: New Blood
• George & Tammy
• Ghosts of Beirut
• Goliath
• Homeland
• Queer as Folk
• Shameless
• The Chi

• The Circus
• The Fourth Estate
• The L Word
• The Tudors
• Twin Peaks: The Return
• UFO
• Uncoupled
• Waco: The Aftermath
• Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men
• Yellowjackets
• Your Honor
• Ziwe

Movies on SHOWTIME (partial list, subject to change)

• 1917
• Aftersun
• Bodies Bodies Bodies
• Boogie Nights
• Close
• Everything Everywhere All At Once
• Forrest Gump
• Kinky Boots
• Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

• Midsommar
• Need for Speed
• Pearl: An X-traordinary Origin Story
• Rosemary’s Baby
• Shut In
• The Whale
• Thelma & Louise
• Uncut Gems

Shows on Paramount+ (partial list)

• 1923: A Yellowstone Origin Story
• Big Brother
• Everybody Loves Raymond
• Frasier
• iCarly
• Ink Master
• Joe PIckett
• NCIS
• Rabbit/Hole
• Rugrats
• RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars
• School Spirits

• Spongebob Squarepants
• Star Trek: Lower Decks
• Star Trek: Picard
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
• Star Trek: Voyager
• Survivor
• The Andy Griffith Show
• The Good Fight
• The Offer
• Tulsa King
• Why Women Kill

Movies on Paramount+ (partial list)

• 80 for Brady
• Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
• Baywatch
• Beavis and Butt-Head Do America
• Bo Burnham: Words Words Words
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s
• Bumblebee
• Clifford the Big Red Dog
• Clueless
• Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
• Jack Reacher

• Mean Girls
• Mission: Impossible
• No Country for Old Men
• Scream
• She’s the Man
• Sicario
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• The Addams Family
• The Adventures of TinTin
• The Godfather
• The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Live TV on SHOWTIME

SHOWTIME gives you two live channels: SHOWTIME East and SHOWTIME West (same programming, different time zones).

Most SHOWTIME TV episodes debut live and on demand simultaneously. But live boxing/MMA events, sports series, and current-events docuseries hit on demand 24–36 hours after airing live. That’s where the live feeds come in handy.

SHOWTIME specs and features

SHOWTIME no longer has its own standalone app (although existing subscribers can still access SHOWTIME Anytime), so let’s check out everything you get with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME bundle.

Multiple streams

Paramount+ with SHOWTIME allows subscribers three simultaneous streams, which is decent. There aren’t any password-sharing restrictions like Netflix has, so we’re pretty happy with its specs.

You can also download 25 videos to your offline library with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan. Titles get deleted from your library after 30 days, regardless of watchtime, and in-progress videos get deleted after 48 hours, which is kind of a bummer.

Paramount+ with SHOWTIME supported devices

Like most major streaming services, you can stream Paramount+ with SHOWTIME on all of your favorite streaming devices. But also like most services (except for, oddly enough, Crunchyroll), it’s not available on the Nintendo Switch.

The Paramount+ app is kind of a pain on the Chromecast with Google TV, but then again, so are most apps on the Chromecast with Google TV. We recommend using a Roku or Fire TV instead.

Paramount+ with SHOWTIME video and audio quality

While it’s not available with the ad-supported Paramount+ plan, the ad-free Paramount+ with SHOWTIME does provide the option to stream in premium 4K with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos audio on supported devices. However, not every video on the service is available in premium formats; this will be marked in the title’s description box.

The devices that support 4K with Dolby Vision on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME are:

• iPhone or iPad
• Apple TV 4K HDR (5th Gen)
• Android phone, tablet, or TV
• Fire TV (4K Stick, Cube)
• Roku

The devices that support Dolby Atmos surround sound on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME are:

• iPhone or iPad
• Android TV (version 9+ supported by Dolby Atmos technology)
• Fire TV
• Roku TV
• Google TV

Paramount+ with SHOWTIME user interface

The Paramount+ app is a big step up from the old SHOWTIME standalone app. While SHOWTIME used to hide content in confusing branching menus, Paramount+ is a modern streaming service with navigation that fits user expectations.

While SHOWTIME content is mixed in with Paramount+ content throughout the app, every title has an easy-to-read brand label on the thumbnail to let you know where the content comes from (SHOWTIME, Paramount+ Originals, CBS, etc). We really like this feature, and think more services could use this easy labeling as we enter an age of weird streaming bundles.

If you want a strictly SHOWTIME experience, away from Kamp Koral and Zoey 102, all you have to do is select the SHOWTIME brand from the app’s Hubs menu (on my iPad, it’s at the top under the Paramount+ logo). There, you can see all of SHOWTIME’s biggest subcategories, like original series, documentaries, sports, and A24 films.

How do you get SHOWTIME with Paramount+?

Accessing SHOWTIME content is easy with Paramount+. While it’s not included in the ad-supported Essential plan, the ad-free Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan gives subscribers access to every SHOWTIME title, including sports and live channels.

The Paramount+ with SHOWTIME package is $11.99 per month, and for a limited time, new subscribers can get a 30-day free trial with the code NEWHOME.

Paramount+ with SHOWTIME is a great deal, providing a one-stop shop for SHOWTIME, CBS, Nickelodeon, sports, and more for one comparatively low price. It’s our pick for the best way to subscribe to SHOWTIME in 2023.

SHOWTIME FAQ

Methodology

Our TV experts have streamed hundreds of hours of content from SHOWTIME and Paramount+ across several different types of streaming devices, comparing pricing and performance to competitors in the streaming market. For more information on our reviewing process, head over to How We Rank.