Paramount+ is looking to level up by making more of its content free.
Paramount’s flagship streamer plans to expand access to movies and shows available to people without a subscription, according to an internal presentation viewed by Business Insider.
This so-called “free front porch” feature would allow people in the US to watch select movies and shows at no cost by registering for a free account, the presentation said.
The free tier rollout is expected to begin in the third quarter with the Paramount+ mobile app, and was listed as a “Q3 Product Priority” during a town hall on Wednesday, along with a plan to test micro dramas.
Business Insider reported in January that Paramount+ was exploring a push into “free content” after viewing an internal presentation sent by Dan Reich, the Paramount+ head of global product and design.
Paramount already has free streamer Pluto TV, which it’s putting on the same tech platform as its namesake streamer in a process called “convergence.” Paramount+ also has had a limited selection of free TV episodes on its website.
Although paid streamers usually don’t allow access to shows without a subscription, Apple TV lets users sample shows, and Business Insider reported that Disney+ is exploring free content.
Hollywood is increasingly seeing the value of free as YouTube and other free-to-access services gain viewers amid price hikes at paid streamers.
A free tier can ‘drive acquisition and winbacks’
Expanding the free offering on Paramount+ — which costs $8.99 a month with ads or $13.99 without ads — would give new users “less friction to browse and watch” and “more reasons to sign up,” according to the presentation.
By requiring users to register with their emails to watch free content, Paramount brings potential customers one step closer to subscribing and can send them marketing emails to convince them to pay.
The slide deck said this strategy can “drive acquisition and winbacks” (bringing back past customers who’ve canceled) by building habits and giving them a reason to keep the Paramount+ app on their phones.
Paramount said it did A/B tests on its iOS app and found that “moving the paywall didn’t harm paid starts,” or new subscriptions.
Paramount+ will let users watch its short-form vertical video feed without registering or subscribing, the presentation said.
While Paramount is “defining success targets” for the free front porch with its finance and marketing teams, the presentation indicated that it will evaluate its success by seeing how many account registrations it drives and by the marketing emails that it sends.
Besides hooking potential customers on its shows, Paramount can also use its free tier to grow advertising revenue and inventory. The presentation said monetizing free content with ads was a strategic goal.
Show samples can “drive reach and visit frequency,” the presentation said.
The best things in life are free
David Ellison’s company is trying to gain ground on Netflix and take on YouTube by pushing into free streaming and short-form content, including micro dramas.
Audiences are increasingly gravitating toward free streamers, which have significantly increased their share of viewership on US TVs in recent years relative to their paid peers, according to Nielsen.
The top three free streaming services — YouTube, The Roku Channel, and Tubi — had an 18.7% viewership share on US TVs in April, the latest month that Nielsen data is available. A year earlier, that figure was 16.8%, and it was 12.7% in April 2024.
By contrast, large paid streamers like Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu have only grown their viewership shares slightly in the last two years.
Meanwhile, Paramount+ and Pluto TV have struggled in the year since April 2025, with their viewership share falling from 2.4% to 2.1% in April 2026.
