Paramount+ and Apple TV+ could soon be tied together, as the parent companies of the 2 streamers explore the possibility of bundling the services, per reporting from the Wall Street Journal on Friday.
Currently, an Apple TV+ subscription sets US viewers back $9.99 per month, while a Paramount+ Essential subscription (without Showtime) is $5.99/mo. The rumored tie-up would supposedly be cheaper than subscribing to both individually, and comes amidst a wave of industry change, as streamers explore everything from price increases, content culls, and bundling to keep their audiences' attention.
Quality, quantity, both… or neither?
The idea of a bundle makes a lot of sense for Paramount and Apple, which have significantly smaller libraries than their competitors. Apple’s offering is particularly lean, with data from Reelgood showing just over 200 titles on Apple TV+, less than 2% of the ~14,000 available on Amazon Prime Video.
Indeed, despite leaning into quality rather than quantity — with shows like Ted Lasso and Severance getting good marks from critics — Apple TV+ still sees an increasing number of customers canceling, with the churn rate on the platform rising every month between May and September, per Variety.
I’ve seen this one before
Industry experts have been predicting content combinations for some time now, and polling suggests that consumers might also be onboard: 64% reportedly wish there was a service to bundle all of their streaming subscriptions.
