Paramount+ has officially launched on EE TV boxes today, bringing its streaming service to both the EE TV Box Pro and Mini.
With Paramount+ recently splitting its service into three new tiers – Basic (with ads), Standard and Premium (4K) – EE customers now have multiple subscription options to choose from.
However, there are some notable limitations to consider – especially when it comes to making the most of that new Premium tier, which – surprisingly – does NOT include 4K on the EE TV box (see more on that below).
Paramount+’s New UK Tiers
Paramount+ has been steadily growing its presence in the UK streaming market since its launch in 2022.
The service offers a mix of content from Paramount Pictures, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and SHOWTIME, including popular series like Yellowstone, most of the Star Trek shows, South Park, and upcoming releases like Landman and The Agency.
Until recently, the service kept things simple with a single £6.99 monthly tier. However, following in the footsteps of Netflix and Disney+, they’ve now split their service into three distinct options:
The Basic with Ads tier comes in at £4.99 monthly. While it’s the cheapest option, you’ll need to sit through advert breaks (similar to ITVX or Channel 4’s free tiers), and you’re limited to streaming on just one device at a time. The video quality tops out at HD.
At £7.99 monthly, the Standard tier (previously the only tier) offers ad-free viewing and allows two concurrent streams. This is likely to be the sweet spot for most viewers, providing HD quality without interruptions.
The Premium tier, priced at £10.99 monthly, is Paramount+’s new flagship offering. It adds 4K UHD content with HDR10 and Dolby Vision support, Dolby Atmos audio where available, and allows streaming on up to four devices simultaneously.
However, it’s worth noting that Paramount+’s 4K content library is still relatively limited compared to services like Netflix or Disney+.
What’s EE TV Again?
For those who might need a refresher, EE TV (formerly known as BT TV) offers various entertainment bundles for BT and EE broadband customers.
The service comes with either the EE TV Box Pro – a 4K-capable Freeview recorder with streaming apps – or an EE-branded Apple TV 4K box.
The platform currently offers several bundles, including their Entertainment package (£20/month, currently discounted to £14/month until December 12 – see more on that below), which includes NOW Entertainment, Netflix, and Discovery+.
They also offer various Sports bundles combining TNT Sports, Eurosport, and Sky Sports.
The Paramount+ Integration – What You Need to Know
While EE’s own 4K Pro box supports several popular streaming apps, some of the major ones have been missing (Disney+ is still not available on it) – but Paramount+ is finally here.
The streaming service is now available as an app on the EE TV Box Pro and Mini, allowing subscribers to access Paramount’s content library directly through their EE TV interface.
Remember, however, that this is a separate, optional subscription – you don’t get Paramount+ included with any of EE TV’s bundles.
However, here’s where things get a bit frustrating: while EE TV customers can subscribe to any of Paramount+’s three tiers, the Premium tier comes with a major limitation.
Despite paying £10.99 monthly for Premium, you won’t actually be able to watch any of Paramount+’s content in 4K on your EE TV Box Pro – or get Dolby Atmos support.
EE has confirmed that Premium subscribers will only receive content in Standard quality at launch, with 4K capabilities and Dolby Atmos coming “at a later date” – though they haven’t specified when.
You’ll still get the four concurrent streams benefit, but paying extra for Premium quality seems pointless if you’re planning to watch primarily through your EE TV Box.
The situation is particularly disappointing given that the EE TV Box Pro is perfectly capable of 4K playback, as demonstrated with other streaming apps on the platform.
Therefore, if you’re already an EE TV customer and fancy adding Paramount+ to your viewing options, the Basic (£4.99) or Standard (£7.99) tiers make the most sense for now.
The Premium tier’s main selling point – 4K quality – simply isn’t available yet on the platform, making its £10.99 monthly cost hard to justify unless you’re planning to watch on other devices that do support 4K.
It’s interesting to note that the situation is somewhat similar with Sky, where Sky Cinema subscribers get Paramount+ Standard for free – but there’s currently no upgrade path to the Premium 4k tier via Sky.
However, if you subscribe to Paramount+’s Premium tier directly – you CAN watch the 4K content on Sky’s devices.
EE TV Black Friday Deals Still On
If you’re thinking about signing up for EE TV, they’re still running some compelling Black Friday offers until December 12.
Their Entertainment bundle, which includes the 4K Freeview Recorder or the Apple TV box, along with NOW Entertainment, Netflix’s Standard with Ads plan, and Discovery+, is available for £14/month (down from £20/month) on a 24-month contract.
Sports fans might be interested in the Big Sport bundle, which combines TNT Sports, Eurosport, and Sky Sports, currently discounted to £35/month from £45/month.
The biggest savings come with their Full Works bundle – you can get it for £25/month for the first three months (normally £78/month), though this goes back to full price afterwards.
Remember that all these offers require an EE or BT broadband subscription, and prices will increase by £2/month from March 2025.
While these aren’t EE’s most aggressive discounts ever, they represent decent savings if you’re planning to stick with the service for the full contract term.