Streaming service Paramount+ is now live in the UK with subscribers able to enjoy an initial library of 8,000 hours of films and shows.
The service costs £6.99 per month or £69.90 per year after a seven-day trial and customers can watch on streaming boxes and sticks from Apple, Amazon, Google and Roku, plus Samsung Smart TVs.
Prime Video subscribers can also add Paramount+ as a bolt-on to their Amazon subscription and view via the Prime Video app on their chosen device. Sky Q and Sky Glass customers with an active Sky Cinema subscription get free access to Paramount+.
Programming highlights include Star Trek: Strange New Worlds which takes place in the years before James T. Kirk takes control of the USS Enterprise – making it the franchise’s third prequel to the original 1966 series.
Viewers can also enjoy the fourth series of Star Trek: Discovery, Halo – a TV adaptation of the popular console gaming franchise – 1883, the first of two prequels to Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone, and The Offer which charts the production of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather.
Upcoming new shows include 1923 – a further Yellowstone prequel starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren – a revival of Frasier, and Sexy Beast – a prequel to the 2000 Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley film of the same name.
Back catalogue titles include the rest of the Star Trek TV franchise – minus Picard and Lower Decks which stream on Prime Video – Dexter, Twin Peaks, South Park, Cheers and Frasier, plus movies such as the entire run of Jack Ryan movies, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher.
Unlike rivals such as Apple TV+ and Prime Video, there’s currently no option to watch in Ultra High Definition 4K in the UK despite this being available on the US service.
In addition, some of studio’s biggest films, including The Godfather saga and Top Gun, are unavailable at launch as is the recently restored Director’s cut of Star Trek: The Motion Picture which US subscribers have been able to enjoy since April.
Today’s launch is being supported with a major publicity campaign, kicking off with Channel 5 – which is owned by Paramount – broadcasting the opening episode of Halo.
Running throughout the summer, the campaign will also include a new advert starring actress Uma Thurman which will be seen on TV, in cinemas, on YouTube, on Channel 5 and its portfolio of sister channels plus its catch-up service, My5.
Maria Kyriacou, President, Australia, Canada, Israel and UK, said: “Paramount+ is an exciting addition to our streaming landscape, bringing audiences the cream of Paramount’s iconic brands and studios in one place.
“Launching Paramount+ in the UK is not just about bringing the best of the world to Britain, it’s about bringing the best of Britain to the world.”