Starting June 4, Paramount+ will gain a lot of movies just from partnering with Epix. We'll explain more of the deal bellow.
After Viacom had split from CBS back in 2006, Showtime was loosing the rights for the Pay 1 window of Paramount Pictures movies. Instead of renewing it, Paramount, along with MGM and Lionsgate, form a joint venture to create Epix. Though both Paramount and Lionsgate sold their shares in the channel.
Currently, Epix partners with a bunch of movie partners including MGM (who owns Epix and is being sold to Amazon), Paramount, and others.
The deal with Epix allows Epix to continue to have the Pay-1 window to new Paramount films until 2023. The deal also made Paramount+ the new sublicenser to Epix, meaning they can stream films currently licensed by Epix (Epix also have a similar deal with Hulu but there's no word on if they would cease the license).
The deal also allowed Paramount to release select films first on Paramount+ then on Epix with Mission Impossible 7 to be the first film to conduct that strategy.
The first batch of films have been released today and more are coming in the next few weeks.
What movie are you looking forwards to watching?