Channels & viewing

[Strega2]

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@Vachon321 wrote:

I do not see why I should pay for content I do not want). 

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This has been a feature of cable TV for years – channels merged/made deals/bought each other and presented themselves to cable systems only as package deals.  Its sad, though not surprising, that they are doing the same thing to streaming customers.

[Portalogem]

Unfortunately, this may not be the answer you're looking for as Verizon Fios doesn't have a Roku channel app, but surely Verizon provides you with a TV box to watch Showtime linear and perhaps even VOD content on your TV. But regardless of not being able to use a Roku device, after publishing my prior post, I have further researched this and have found that Verizon Fios does offer the ability to watch their content on your computer and iPad, which should include their Showtime channel, and any included Showtime VOD content. It might not be as good as Showtime Anytime was on your Roku device, but at least you can still watch Showtime on your TV (provided that Verizon Fios gave you their own TV box), computer, and iPad directly through Verizon Fios.

Unfortunately, instead of being able to directly access Showtime like before, you'll now have to use Verizon Fios and go through the channel guide to watch live Showtime or go through a few steps to find Showtime VOD content. If the VOD content is severely lacking on Verizon Fios, then unfortunately it's a wait-and-see game if Paramount Plus will allow you to access its website with your TV credentials. 

Watch Fios TV Everywhere | Verizon TV Support

Fios TV Mobile App | Verizon TV Support

Fios On Demand and Pay Per View | Verizon TV Support

[Vachon321]

I'll wait until January 8. There are only two apps on the ROKU currently for Paramount+--one a direct subscription with P+; the other a subscription via ROKU. To be completely honest, I'm baffled as to why one would subscribe via ROKU--the price is the same. Neither app offers you the option of signing in with your cable provider.

GRRR. 

[Portalogem]

Using your Verizon FIOS credentials to sign into the Paramount Plus website may happen sometime after January 8th. Who can tell? Fingers crossed is all I can say. I see with Hulu, the add-on still named Showtime as of 1/7/24 is raising its rates to match Paramount Plus on 1/11/24, so some providers may be added at different dates, or perhaps it will all happen tomorrow, or maybe it won't happen at all.

With your other question, I think it's nice that Roku and other providers also offer Paramount Plus because of redundancy reasons. For instance, it's impossible to change your subscription date with Paramount Plus (website) without canceling the service and re-subscribing. Let's say one subscribed on the 5th and they want to move this back to the 1st. Instead of having to cancel and not have it for that many days, one could cancel with Paramount Plus's website, and sign up through Roku on the 6th. Then on the 1st, one would sign back up with Paramount Plus (website) and cancel with Roku with a few days overlap. Another nice thing one can do is to take advantage of all the special promo offers for returning subscribers by leaping from one provider to the next that offers Paramount Plus, but I'm not sure how well this works as I haven't done this myself. 

None of this is helpful if you want to sign up with the Paramount Plus website through your Verizon FIOS credentials, which is what I want to do with a provider, especially if I can pay the same price for Paramount Plus with Showtime through that provider and get all of Showtime's (and Paramount Plus's) live channels and perhaps a DVR option for the live channel content, which I think I can do through YouTube TV even without the base plan. I just have to wait till this rebranding occurs before making my next move, but I would also want to be able to use that provider's credentials to log into the Paramount Plus website, so I could have the best of both for the same price of paying directly for one. 

[Portalogem]

So there's nothing yet when I looked at the Paramount Plus website's log-on page to see if there was a way to log in with provider credentials, but this article looks promising: Paramount+ is Now Free For Cable TV & Streaming Customers Including Spectrum & Hulu, Who Pay For Par... (https://cordcuttersnews.com/paramount-is-now-free-for-cable-tv-customers-including-spectrum-who-pay-...).

[Vachon321]

Won't help me. Verizon doesn't offer Paramount+ and I only subscribe to Showtime through Verizon Fios. 

[Portalogem]

Presently, Verizon doesn't include Paramount+ with your linear Showtime subscription, but this won't last very long since Paramount has rebranded Showtime as Paramount+ with Showtime, which means that Verizon will soon have to offer you this. Just like Verizon FIOS, Hulu also doesn't yet appear to offer Paramount+, but they were mentioned in the article, meaning both will soon be rebranded to include Paramount+. It's just a matter of time.

Even though the article doesn't specifically mention Verizon FIOS, this doesn't mean that it won't soon appear on the list of providers on the Paramount Plus website. I'm hopeful that YouTube TV will show up on the list as I saw that they have rebranded the network formerly known as Showtime, yet still have the same $10.99 per month fee (and the base plan isn't required).

There's no way to log in through any provider as of yet, but if the article is accurate, this could all change sometime soon -- perhaps as early as tomorrow (1/11/24) which is when Hulu Showtime's price will increase to be the same as Paramount Plus, and perhaps YouTube TV and all the rest will follow suit.

If Verizon FIOS doesn't show up on the list, whenever that list happens to appear, then call them to find out when this will happen. If you aren't subscribed to Showtime through a tier, and you're paying the full $10.99 for it, then once this list appears and if Verizon FIOS isn't included, but if YouTube TV is included, you may want to consider canceling Showtime from Verizon and adding it through YouTube TV since you wouldn't have to pay extra for YouTube TV's base plan and could keep your Verizon FIOS plan. I haven't yet tried YouTube TV, but what I understand is that (unlike Hulu) you would be able to use their DVR service to record the live Showtime (and Paramount+) channels and perhaps also have the option to log into the Paramount Plus website. Paramount+ with Showtime through YouTube TV has a 7-day free trial, so you could try it out to see if that would work for you. However, you should wait until YouTube TV appears on the Paramount Plus website as one of the providers (if Verizon FIOS doesn't appear). Even though everything is currently up in the air, I've written this to show you that you do have options on how you can subscribe to Showtime, as you don’t have to continue subscribing to Showtime through Verizon FIOS if they aren't giving you what you want for (around) the same price you could be paying another provider – unless you're locked into a tier.

[Portalogem]

Unfortunately, this won't help you now, but hopefully, soon you'll be able to use Verizon FIOS to log into the Paramount Plus website. You should call them about this, especially if you could do this with Showtime Anytime. Perhaps in a month, more providers including Verizon will be added -- just keep checking back. So as of today (1/8/24), this is what I found:

The link itself: https://www.paramountplus.com/link

The help article: https://help.paramountplus.com/s/article/PD-I-have-a-subscription-to-the-Paramount-with-SHOWTIME-net...

Update: One option you have would be to cancel Showtime through Verizon and sign up for Paramount+ with Showtime through Hulu (Showtime has been rebranded as of 1/8/24), but then you would have to pay $7.99 extra for a Hulu account, and Paramount+ through Hulu is now $11.99 a month. I'm unsure if you would want to pay $19.98 to be able to do this though. Another option, if you already have an Amazon Prime subscription (after canceling Showtime with Verizon FIOS) is to add Paramount+ with Showtime as a Prime Video Channel and then link your Amazon account with the Paramount Plus website (or you could altogether cancel Verizon FIOS and instead subscribe through DirecTV or DirecTV stream since you can now sign up with the Paramount Plus website through them as of 1/15/24). However, if none of these options work for you, your best bet is to call Verizon and work this out with them. 

[BarbS2]

I can now get Paramount+ with Showtime through my FIOS triple play that included Showtime.

It works with a set top box, online, and the Fios TV mobile app.

Also I can use a mobile device to  cast to ROKU using the Web Video Caster app.

[SSKK1785]

I pay for showtime in fios Version and have a subscription on Roku for paramount +. Am I duplicating payment?