SKY customers are raging after noticing a much-loved streaming app on their account now has ads – and there’s no way to skip them.
The broadcasting giant warned customers two weeks ago of a change to the service and the unpopular move has started appearing on screens.
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Viewers who subscribe to Sky Movies get Paramount+ included at no extra cost.
Paramount+ is home to the US studio’s huge back catalogue of movies, as well as TV series from its channels such as MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.
The platform also has a growing list of originals, with huge favourites like Yellowstone and its spin-off series, as well as iconic franchise Star Trek.
Sky customers with access to Paramount+ via their box or TV have complained about the sudden arrival of ads.
“We watch it quite a lot and have never seen adverts interupting the content until last night,” one user wrote on Sky’s online forum.
“Looking at my account it says I have Paramount + Basic with ads.
“I’m 99% sure that wasnt the case before.
“Have I missed something as I’ve had no warning from Sky as to this change.
“Is there a way to upgrade to a ‘no ads’ tier. It’s doubly frustrating as I also pay for ad skipping.”
The user then uncovered a page on Sky’s website detailing the shake-up and described it as “very disappointing”.
Another wrote: “I’ve just discovered this while watching an episode of Tulsa King.
“3 ad breaks of 60-90 seconds each.
“Very surprising, as I watched an episode of Lioness last night with no ads. I had no previous knowledge of this change.”
The move comes after Paramount+ overhauled its subscription offering, creating three different tiers instead of one.
This includes a new cheaper ad tier at £4.99, a standard plan without ads at £7.99 and a premium option with 4K available at £10.99.
In Sky’s announcement about the changes recently it warned customers that they will get access to Paramount+ with the ad tier going forward.
But one further problem is that households don’t have the option to upgrade to a plan without ads either.
“We’re not able to offer other plans at the moment,” Sky’s website says.
“If you’re already a Paramount+ Customer paying with Sky Marketplace, then adding Sky Cinema onto your TV package, you’ll automatically be moved to the Paramount+ Basic (with ads).
“We’ll switch this over for you at the end of your current billing period (we can’t do it sooner and can’t refund you for any time left on your Paramount+ Standard subscription), so you don’t continue paying monthly with Sky Marketplace.
“You don’t have to do anything, and your login details will stay the same.”
Paramount+ basic with ads via Sky allows users to stream on 1 device at once or 2+ Sky devices.
Paramount+ new prices
In November, Paramount+ announced a new pricing structure was coming to the UK.
Before, there was just one standard plan costing £7.99.
Now there are three.
The cheapest is £4.99 with ads, the ability to watch on one device at a time and only full HD quality – you also don’t have the privilege to download shows offline.
Paramount+’s new standard plan is £6.99 per month, allowing up to two concurrent streams in full HD and you can download content to watch on the go.
The premium plan is £10.99 per month, with up to four devices allowed to watch at the same time, as well as 4K UHD, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos on selected titles.
Top image copyright: Getty / Sky / Paramount
