Last month, I decided to subscribe to CBS All Access, which later became Paramount+ in March.
When getting my subscription, I thought it would be a good idea to get it through Apple TV Channels so that I could have everything from the service available to me in the Apple TV app.
Here is what I like about the service:
By subscribing to Paramount+ through Apple TV Channels, it makes it easier to access the content on it. Apple’s TV app has a UI that looks so nice to the eye, whether you’re using it on an iPhone, iPad or Apple TV.
I do like the fact that when I scroll to the bottom, I can view all of the movies and TV shows there are, as well as view the TV shows by their genre.
The selection of content it has is great, especially if you were like me and grew up watching a lot of Nickelodeon shows. This includes shows like “Spongebob Squarepants,” “Drake and Josh,” “iCarly,” “Danny Phantom,” “Victorious,” “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide” and a plethora of others.
Meanwhile, all of it is available for the great price of just $9.99 a month, which is ad-free.
Another way I have used the service is being able to watch new episodes of “Young Sheldon” the day after they air on CBS.
Got this @AppleTV notification for the new episode of @YoungSheldon, with it now being on @paramountplus. Definitely going to watch either tonight or tomorrow morning. #AppleTV #ParamountPlus #YoungSheldon pic.twitter.com/G1IBkVSADf
— David Becker (@iBeckTech) March 6, 2021
I’m not one to focus as much now on live TV ratings for my favorite TV shows because, well, I just don’t have the time to worry about that kind of stuff anymore. This is where Paramount+ takes over that fear and just lets me watch the show when it is convenient for me.
Paramount+ does also give me the option to watch other old CBS shows as well, which include “Man with a Plan,” which I am thinking about watching, or 2015’s “The Odd Couple” TV series starring Thomas Lennon and Matthew Perry.
While I have not spent a lot of time with the originals of Paramount+ simply because I’m not really into “Star Trek” and that’s what most of the originals are on the streaming service, I do hope that new ones are produced and released on it sooner than later because it would be nice to have something new to watch here.
Hopefully the new “iCarly” reboot will take care of that problem for me.
Of course, I do appreciate the fact that the new Spongebob movie is on the service, as well as its spin-off, “Kamp Koral.” I still have yet to watch either the movie or TV show.
Lastly, for this portion, having access to my local CBS station, KCCI in Des Moines, Iowa, is nice and convenient. I don’t use it that much, but it could come in handy in case of breaking news I need to be aware of or if I actually want to watch a new episode of “Young Sheldon” live on the network.
Here is what I am not a fan of:
Yes, it does come off too much as “just” a rebranded version of CBS All Access. It’s like having the same ice cream Sunday, but with an added cherry on top.
The second issue I have is a very specific one.
Comedy Central recently aired its newest “South Park” special “South ParQ Vaccination Special.”
I know that the series has a special partnership with HBO Max and Warner Brothers, hence why the rest of the series is there. However, since ViacomCBS is the owner of Comedy Central, I would think that they could have worked out a deal to provide the special to its Paramount+ users for a week or two after the special aired, and then after that, have it be exclusive to HBO Max.
It would have been nice to have it at least be a one-time thing, given how new Paramount+ is.
The movie collection could be a lot better, especially since Paramount did make and owns the “Transformers” movie franchise. That should have been a selling point when the streaming service was first being marketed.
It’s also interesting that one of its 2020 movies, “Sonic the Hedgehog” was put on Hulu the same month that Paramount+ was set to launch. You would think Paramount would have tried to make that an exclusive to the service as well.
In the end, Paramount+ gets 3/4 stars from me. It has a good start with all of the Nickelodeon and CBS shows available to fans like me. Still, it does have some flaws to it as well.
Paramount+ costs $5.99 a month for the ad-supported version and $9.99 a month for the ad-free tier. It can be subscribed to through either the App Store (which requires you to use the Paramount+ app) or Apple TV Channels that does include the Apple TV third generation in the Apple TV app.
Paramount+ is available to stream on the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Apple TV and Mac.
Rating: 3/4 stars
