The Curious Case of My Paramount+ Subscription
I want to tell you a weird and specific story about the world of streaming TV and the seemingly fragile stack of technology our entertainment is built on. I doubt there are many people who can relate to this experience or my reaction to it, but I think it’s worth sharing anyway. Here’s how I’ve been watching Paramount+ for free despite my best efforts to pay for it.
It all started back when Paramount+ was still called CBS All Access. My wife wanted to watch Criminal Minds, and I knew we’d have to subscribe to the service in order to get access. Apple had just teamed up with Viacom to offer a discounted bundle of CBS All Access and Showtime to Apple TV+ subscribers. It was a bit confusing, but it turned out to be a good deal, so I signed up.
At that point, I had a subscription to CBS All Access and Showtime, both via Apple TV Channels. I was billed monthly through my Apple ID, and I streamed Criminal Minds, The Stand, Young Sheldon, and everything else the service offered through the Apple TV app.
I was also able to access my subscription in the CBS All Access app and on the service’s website. The site allowed me to create an account and link it to my Apple-mediated subscription so that I could watch whichever way I preferred. (I almost always did so via the Apple TV app.)
When the service transitioned to Paramount+, I was curious what would happen to my subscription. I was pleasantly surprised that everything moved over smoothly. The branding changed overnight, but I was still able to access all of the content the same I always had: via the Apple TV app, the Paramount+ app, or the website.
This setup worked great for me. I loved being able to watch Paramount+ shows and movies without leaving the TV app, and I even appreciated the simplified billing through my Apple ID. I wish every streaming service was offered through Apple TV Channels, because that’s definitely how I’d choose to access them.
I likely never would have touched the subscription again had it not been for a change in another part of my life: I started using Walmart+ for grocery delivery and fell in love with it. And one of the perks that Walmart+ offers to subscribers is free access to—you guessed it—Paramount+.
Not wanting to waste money paying for something I could get for free, I went to the Subscriptions page in my Apple ID settings and turned off auto renew for Paramount+. Apple told me I’d have access to the service until the end of my billing cycle, and then I’d have to resubscribe to use it again. “No problem,” I thought. “I’ll just wait for my current month to run out, and then I’ll activate the free subscription through my Walmart account.”
Wow, was I wrong.
I waited for my subscription to run out and move to the Inactive section of my Apple ID settings. Then I logged into my Paramount+ account on the website to active my subscription through Walmart+, and I was greeted with the following message:
It looks like you’re subscribed to Paramount+ with Apple TV channels. Please visit Settings on your Apple TV, iOS, or Mac, or select Edit to manage your subscription in iTunes.
“Okay,” I thought. “There must be some kind of delay in their processing. I’ll wait for this to work itself out.” In the meantime, I kept on binge watching, thinking the situation would resolve within a few days.
I kept checking, and checking, and checking. One week went by. Then two weeks. Then a month. Three months.
Here I am writing this blog post over eight months after canceling my Paramount+ subscription, and my account is still in this odd limbo. The company has not received a cent from me in that time, nor have they (I assume) been compensated by Walmart for my subscription since I haven’t been able to active that perk. All the while, I’ve had full access to the Paramount+ streaming service.
I’d feel bad if I hadn’t tried so many times to fix this. I still check in every once in a while to see if my account status has changed. And every time I hit play on a Paramount+ title, part of me anticipates a message saying, “You’re no longer subscribed.” But so far, so… I guess you’d call this good?
On my end, it’s mostly a wash. I wouldn’t be paying for the service myself anyway since I should be accessing it through my Walmart+ subscription. Instead, the ghost of my Apple TV Channels sub lives on to stream another day. The end result is the same: I get to stream Paramount+. But it does come with a few annoyances.
Apple are aware that I don’t have an active Paramount+ subscription, which breaks some of the niceties built in to the TV app. Often when I try to launch a Paramount+ title from my Up Next queue, my device will prompt me to resubscribe, and I have to manually open the title in the Paramount+ app instead. Sometimes, Apple TV will recommend I watch via the CBS app or some other means since it knows I’m not paying for Paramount+. Listen, Apple: I’m trying, okay?
Oddly, Paramount themselves somehow know that I’m not paying for premium Showtime content even though they think my Paramount+ subscription is active. When I try to play a Showtime title, I’m prompted to go to my account page and upgrade to a plan that includes it—something I can’t do. The account page simply redirects me to my Apple ID subscriptions page, which says I’m not subscribed. No Showtime for me, I guess.
If it sounds like I’m complaining, I apologize. I find the whole situation more funny than anything else. And a little bit sad.
We went all-in on internet technology for our entertainment, but in doing so, we simply trusted that the technology was solid. In this case, at least, it seems to be more shaky than I’m comfortable with. I’m an edge case for sure, but I can’t be the only one who’s found themselves backed into a weird corner like this. It’s working fine for me; who knows for how long.
Oh well. At least the play button still works, right?
