Robin Gierse
Cineaste

Rant

Paramount+

2 min read

Today I just have a quick rant: Paramount+, why U no work?!

Okay, let's take a step back: I got access to Paramount+ when it launched in Germany for free through my existing Sky subscription. That is the only reason I am using it, because I hate the idea of using a dozen streaming services at the same time. When it launched, I used it primarily in the browser but from day one, I had a poor experience. Glitches in the UI, playback issues and worst of all: No episode tracking for TV shows. If I do not remember where I left off, I am on my own. How does a company dare to release this to the public as a commercial offering? I am using the service primarily in the Brave browser, which is Chrome-based, so far from being exotic. But the glitches are there to this day. What became way better are the playback issues. While in the first days that was a constant pain, the last time they occurred are way in the past. And with the episode tracking it is weird: Some time ago I started to use the app on a smart TV and there episode tracking works. But not in the browser.

In all fairness: I have been using Netflix for years now, and I started using it some years after launch. So I never experienced the early problems Netflix certainly had as well. And by now they have a lot of experience in running a streaming service, while Paramount just entered the game.

But as this is a rant: Right now I can only urge you to not pay money for this so-called streaming service. While I will keep using it, I only do so because it is free for me. The moment they want to see even a penny, I will be gone.

P.S.: I really hope, I can some day update this rant and tell you, that they listened and learned, because they got all of Star Trek and I really like that franchise. But for now, I stand by my word.