‘Yellowstone’ Season 4 Is Finally Streaming, Just Not Where You’d Think – CNET

Yellowstone is, without a doubt, the Paramount Networks greatest hit. Its likewise one of the greatest hits on cable television service, bar none. The season 3 cliffhanger ending in 2020 drew the biggest audience of any scripted television show on cable television that year, with 7.6 million audiences viewing it. The season 4 premiere in November on the Paramount Network nearly doubled that, with 14.7 million viewers. And the Paramount Plus streaming service would seem like the natural place to turn for anyone wanting to stream the show. However, counterintuitively, the one program most related to the Paramount name is no place to be found on Paramount Plus. You can lastly see it on competing service Peacock as of Monday if you desire to see Yellowstones latest season– season 4– on a streaming service. If you wish to binge Yellowstones back catalog, you can either see it on Peacock, which has a special offer as the only membership streaming service with Yellowstone, or you can attempt to unlock the Paramount Network app– but not Paramount Plus. And in a surprise twist, the first three seasons streamed on Pluto TV over last weekend, totally complimentary with advertisements. They basically played like an old-school Television marathon; you could not stop briefly, rewind, avoid or otherwise select which episode you were viewing. As confusing as that is, its rather by style. Yellowstone isnt the only high-profile Paramount title missing from Paramount Plus streaming service: If youre looking for Comedy Centrals South Park, for instance, you require to take a look at HBO Max..

Paramount isnt getting reach for Yellowstone by having it on Peacock. Peacock is even smaller than Paramount Plus: It had 24.5 month active accounts at the end of 2021, with just about 16 million of those on a paid tier that opens Yellowstone. Most recently, Paramount has actually started reuniting a few of its significant franchises with its own streaming service. South Park is slowly untangling from HBO Max to make its way Paramount Plus, the business stated in February. In 2024, new South Park episodes will have their streaming premieres on Paramount Plus instead of on HBO Max. In 2025, Paramount Plus will get the complete back-catalog of South Park in the United States. But so far, Paramount has been quiet about clawing back the rights to Yellowstone. That suggests that for new fans of any of the Yellowstone prequels on Paramount Plus, as they see the narrates of the Dutton households arrival in Montana and their advancement into ranching titans, Paramount Plus viewers require to go in other places to find out who the Duttons even are..

Paramount Plus So what does Paramount Plus in fact have related to Yellowstone? On Dec. 19, Paramount Plus began streaming a prequel titled 1883, which focuses on the Dutton family more than a century earlier as they move west and establish the Yellowstone Ranch. Why Yellowstone streams on Peacock and not Paramount Plus Every brand-new streaming service launching out of Hollywood makes its own judgment about how much, and what, to keep for itself.

Content licensing is an industry for Paramount, and so is the income produced by having a hit program on a traditional cable network like Paramount Network. Paramount placed a bet that some top-shelf programs might be better– and reach more eyeballs– if theyre readily available someplace aside from Paramount Plus, even if it means a big Paramount program like Yellowstone isnt on Paramount Plus at all. (In retrospection, it may have been an epically bad bet.) Like the rest in the parade of new streaming services– consisting of Disney Plus, HBO Max, Apple TV Plus, Peacock and Discovery Plus — Paramount Plus hopes its own particular mixture of television and movies will hook you by itself vision for televisions future. But byzantine licensing offers like Yellowstones highlight that even when a service like Paramount Plus rallies around its own material, that does not necessarily make it easier for you to discover and view your preferred programs and motion pictures online. Where you can and cant stream YellowstoneThe main distinction to understand is that Paramount Plus is different from Paramount Network. While Paramount Plus is a membership streaming service, Paramount Network is a conventional cable television channel readily available to individuals who pay for it through a live-TV provider. Paramount Network is where Yellowstones 4th season (and all its seasons) were very first released. The 2nd distinction to understand is that Peacock is the only subscription streaming service with Yellowstone, period. On Paramount Plus, you cant stream Yellowstone– old episodes or new ones– at all. Paramount Network If you want to stream any episodes from the most recent season, the first location theyre available is on Paramount Networks channel, app or site. The 4th season of Yellowstone streams only for “validated” online viewers– that is, individuals who can visit with their live-TV services credentials to show theyre currently paying for Paramount Network. One exception: Paramount put the premiere episode of Yellowstones 4th season outside its paywall, so any person is able to stream this episode– entitled Half the Money– complimentary on Paramount Networks app or website. Paramount Networks movies and programs, consisting of every Yellowstone episode, are available to stream online at paramountnetwork.com or its Paramount Network app. To be an “authenticated” audience, you need to be paying for the channel currently with a live-TV subscription, such as cable, satellite or a live-channel streaming service like YouTube Television or Philo. ( Philo is among the least expensive online alternatives to get access to Paramount Network; it likewise offers a weeklong totally free trial.).

Paramount positioned a bet that some top-shelf programs might be more important– and reach more eyeballs– if theyre available someplace other than Paramount Plus, even if it suggests a huge Paramount program like Yellowstone isnt on Paramount Plus at all. While Paramount Plus is a subscription streaming service, Paramount Network is a standard cable television channel available to individuals who pay for it through a live-TV service provider. Paramount Networks shows and movies, including every Yellowstone episode, are available to stream on the web at paramountnetwork.com or its Paramount Network app. Paramount Plus So what does Paramount Plus actually have related to Yellowstone? Beyond the cash Paramount makes by licensing, Paramount Plus also thought it may be able to draw in more brand-new members if it let other, bigger services have some of its titles to stream.

Kevin Costner stars in Yellowstone, among the most-watched scripted programs on TV.
Paramount Network.

And WarnerMedias HBO Max has actually repeatedly clawed back rights to all eight Harry Potter movies from NBCUniversal and Peacock. WarnerMedias Warner Bros. certified all those films to NBCUniversal years earlier in an epic offer. That put NBCUniversals Peacock in line to stream them instead of HBO Max. WarnerMedia has actually snagged them back repeatedly, in an effort to increase HBO Max with a popular franchise. Paramount Plus, nevertheless, has actually been far more ready to license its top titles elsewhere. Part of the reason is that accrediting out titles can be a rewarding service. Last year, Paramount made $5.6 billion in earnings from licensing, almost a quarter of the businesss total. That cash comes from a selection of licenses, from TV syndication to Paw Patrol packed outfits and animals. Part of it is also farming out titles like Yellowstone, South Park and others to Paramount Plus direct rivals. When you approve your own programs to your own service solely, you forsake cash you mightve carried in if you d certified it to another person. And Paramount has a big back brochure to tap into: approximately 140,000 TV episodes and 4,000 movies. The company doesnt want all that on Paramount Plus. “We cant keep all that for ourself. It doesnt make good sense,” CEO Bob Bakish said last year, as Paramount Plus was preparing for launch. “Its too much.” Bakish has actually consistently said the businesss method is “progressing” in terms of how much of its own programs it need to accredit and just how much it needs to keep for itself. The businesss licensing method has “moved to end up being a lot more focused” on having its own franchises on its own streaming service, he stated in November. But the “tradition deals” the company struck before the launch of Paramount Plus can have a long tail, he added. In February, Bakish said it was “unfortunate” to strike a Yellowstone licensing handle Peacock in the midst of closing a major merger. However, beyond the cash Paramount makes by licensing, Paramount Plus also thought it may be able to draw in more brand-new members if it let other, bigger services have some of its titles to stream. Bakish has noted that other platforms can expand the audience for an older program so that its reboots and spinoffs have a larger fan base for Paramount Plus. Its a perverse sort of reasoning. Netflix has more than 221 million members worldwide, versus Paramount Plus 33 million. Interest in Avatar: The Last Airbender rose in 2020 when the program hit Netflix, definitely helping encourage ViacomCBS 2021 choice to introduce an entire brand-new studio dedicated to fresh Avatar-related programs..

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