Paramount Plus only allows its Premium subscribers to download shows to watch offline, meaning Essential package subscribers do not have the feature.
Paramount+ is the rebranded CBS All Access streaming service that was launched in 2021.
The rebranding meant that the paid subscription video-on-demand service had new shows from channels like CBS, BET, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV, and Smithsonian Channel.
Moreover, the streaming service also offers CBS All Access television shows like Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Discovery.
With the introduction of Paramount+, CBS and Viacom introduced two new subscription packages that subscribers can choose from. The first is the Essential subscription package and the second is the Premium subscription channel.
One of the biggest differences between the two is that the Premium package allows subscribers to download shows and movies on their smartphones or tablets to watch offline, and the Essential package does not.
How much are Paramount+ packages?
Paramount+ launched with primarily two different subscription packages. The first is the Essential package, which has limited commercial interruptions. The Essential package has two payment methods you can choose from.
There is the monthly subscription fee of $4.99 or you can save by paying the annual subscription fee of $49.99. Alternatively, there is the Premium package, which was previously referred to as the Commercial-free package.
With the Premium package you can either pay the monthly subscription fee of $9.99 or save with the annual subscription fee of $99.99. One advantage of the Premium package is the access that subscribers get to local CBS stations.
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Can you download Paramount Plus shows to watch offline?
The benefits of opting for the Essential subscription package, besides being able to access the television shows and films available on the platform, is that you can view content from channels like NFL on CBS and UEFA Champions League from a different feed.
But one of the benefits this package does not include is the ability to download shows and movies to watch offline.
To be able to download television shows and movies that you can watch offline, you need to purchase a Premium subscription package.
Other benefits of opting for the Premium package include limited commercials instead of being commercial-free as it was before.
The commercials are promotional content of other shows and movies on Paramount+ instead of brand advertisements, as it is with the Essential package.
Therefore, the only package that allows its subscribers to download shows offline is the Premium package, but there are also limitations to this benefit of the package.
It is important to know details like how many episodes or films can be downloaded to your library, which devices downloads are enabled on, and how to download a show or movie.
How to download shows and movies on Paramount+
Firstly, viewers should note that downloading shows or movies from Paramount+ for offline viewing can only be done on the app and on a smartphone or tablet, not a computer. This is possibly done to avoid piracy of their content.
The first step to downloading shows and movies for offline viewing is to download the Paramount+ app. Once downloaded, Paramount+ shares the steps of downloading an episode or movie as:
- Locate the Download icon next to a show or movie description.
- Tap the icon to start downloading. Please note, you can navigate to other areas of the app while you are waiting for your download, but if you exit the Paramount+ app, your download will be paused.
- You will see the progress icon .
- When progress is complete, simply tap the “Completed” icon to start streaming your show or movie.
How long does a download stay in my library on Paramount+?
Following downloading an episode or movie to your Paramount+ library, the content will remain there for 30 days from the day of downloading it.
After the 30 days, the content is automatically removed from your library. This applies to episodes or movies that have not been watched but were downloaded.
Episodes that are downloaded and watched have a 48 hour timespan in the downloads library before they are automatically deleted.
Moreover, if you start watching the episode or show and stop, then return to the program in the 48 hours from when you started watching it, Paramount+ stills delete the program automatically, and you will have to download it and start watching it again as you cannot continue watching from where you left off.
What is the limit of shows and movies I can download on Paramount+?
Paramount+ caps the total number of downloads in your downloads library to 25.
As a result, Paramount+ does state that if you attempt to exceed the 25 episodes and films limit, an error message will appear that requests that you delete some of the previously downloaded content to enable the download to take place.
While there is a limit on the number of downloads that can be in your download library, Paramount+ does allow multiple downloads to be done simultaneously.