How to Watch Sports on Paramount Plus

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At the beginning of March 2021, ViacomCBS, now known as Paramount Global, rolled their old streaming service -- CBS All Access -- into a new service called Paramount Plus. CBS All Access sports coverage was popular for many sports fans. Does Paramount Plus measure up?

Aside from an impressive on-demand library that draws from Paramount Global's substantial back catalog, Paramount Plus also includes coverage for both live sports and on-demand shows geared toward sports fans. This is great news for the Paramount Plus subscribers looking for a streaming service to watch games airing on the CBS network without paying for cable TV.

There are two different subscription plans and prices for Paramount Plus. The Essential plan costs $5/mo., but you also have the option to sign up for an annual subscription for $50/yr. -- which saves you 16 percent off the regular cost.

The second option is the Premium plan, which costs $10/mo. It's mostly ad-free and includes your local CBS station, though Paramount Plus' live TV programming will still include ads. A yearly Premium subscription is $100, which is also a discount of 16 percent off the regular monthly subscription. Unfortunately, there's no Paramount Plus free trial anymore.

Both packages feature tens of thousands of episodes, movies, and originals. And sports fans will have the option of watching live games from the NFL and a few different pro soccer leagues. Premium subscribers can add even more sports into the mix.

Sports Streaming on Paramount Plus

So, how do you watch sports on Paramount Plus? As Paramount Global's streaming service, Paramount Plus is betting big on sports, and it has plans to stream over 1,000 live events every year. The service has already secured streaming deals with quite a few leagues, both college and pro. Many of the live games that subscribers will be able to access depend on the local CBS networks. That means some games that are not nationally broadcast might only be available in certain regions.

Paramount Plus also nabbed international soccer streaming rights for teams and tournaments around the world. So soccer fans will be able to enjoy many matches live, and some of the international matches broadcast in English will be exclusive to Paramount Plus. Aside from live sporting events, Paramount Plus will also include on-demand sports coverage and a live sports news broadcast. Here's the breakdown of what's available.

Football

Fans of CBS All Access' NFL content should be right at home with Paramount Plus' sports coverage. You'll be able to watch the NFL games broadcast on CBS channels, including many of the regular and postseason games in your local market. Aside from the NFL, Paramount Plus Premium will also feature college football games that are broadcast on SEC on CBS. So fans of teams in the Southeastern Conference should have plenty of games to watch. 

For football fanatics, Paramount Plus will be the only place where you can watch the Emmy Award-winning series Inside the NFL. If you're missing football during the offseason, this show is a great way to get your fix.

Basketball

Basketball fans aren't left out on Paramount Plus, either. The platform features games from the NCAA March Madness college basketball showcase tournament every year. This is college basketball's premium event, and any game that's broadcast on CBS is also available on Paramount Plus.

Golf

Fans of professional golf should definitely look into a Paramount Plus subscription, because the streaming service will feature many tournaments. Topping the list is The Masters, one of the most prestigious pro golf tournaments in the world. The service also features coverage from the main PGA TOUR, as well as the PGA Championship.

Soccer

If you enjoyed CBS All Access Soccer content, the live coverage coming from Paramount Plus is worth your attention. For starters, Paramount Plus will feature live games from the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). And for fans of European soccer, Paramount Plus is one of the best options around. 

Paramount Plus is the only streaming service in the U.S. where you can catch English-language coverage of every single UEFA club competition match. That includes UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League. Aside from all of the UEFA matches and the NWSL, Paramount Plus has English-language rights to broadcast games from five additional soccer properties. 

First, you can watch hundreds of matches from Concacaf, including many Concacaf Nations League, Gold Cup, Champions League and World Cup Qualifying Matches. 

There will also be live broadcasts of all 380 matches every year from the Argentine Primera División, which is the premier soccer division in Argentina. Last, Paramount Plus will stream more than 360 matches per year from Brazil's Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A soccer league, along with all matches from the Italian Serie A league.

On top of live games, Paramount Plus includes CBS Sports HQ, which is a sports news service that will stream sports-related content 24 hours a day. However, for fans of CBS All Access MLB or tennis content, there's no word yet on whether these will be added  to Paramount Plus. 

Using the CBS Sports App

The CBS Sports app has been around for a while, and it's still great for sports fans of all kinds. You don't need a subscription to access much of the content. Fans can check scores for most pro and college leagues, including baseball, football, basketball, and much more. The app also features a live stream of CBS Sports HQ.

If you want to watch live games, you can sign in with your Paramount Plus login to link the app to the streaming service. This will allow you to watch live games that are available through Paramount Plus. 

Meanwhile, the CBS Sports app also features a nice range of analysis, highlights, interviews, and other on-demand video content for many different leagues. You can even set up personalized alerts for scores and breaking news. 

Paramount Plus Compared to Other TV Streaming Services

Paramount Plus does a good job of gathering much of the streaming content you might see on competing services. However, you might find the live sports coverage from Paramount Plus somewhat limited compared to other services like ESPN+, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, YouTube TV, or fuboTV. 

Aside from ESPN+, which is an over-the-top service that covers a variety of sports at only $7/mo., subscriptions to many of these services start at $35/mo. They also provide live sports coverage from a number of networks at the local and national levels, including ABC, ESPN, FOX, and NBC. They also provide cloud DVR so you can record games to watch later. 

Paramount Plus' live sports coverage is focused around the CBS network, so while you can watch CBS sports live, there are, overall, fewer live games to watch. Paramount Plus also lacks Cloud DVR at the moment, so you won't be able to download games to watch later. 

However, a subscription to Paramount Plus Premium is only $10/mo., which is a small fraction of what it costs to get other popular services. So Paramount Plus provides some live sports access at a much more affordable price. For NFL, golf, soccer, and college basketball fans, in particular, it's a good deal.

Our Final Take

If you want a big on-demand library with some live sports thrown in the mix, Paramount Plus live sports offerings are a good choice. However, the live sports are mostly limited to the CBS network, so fans who want to catch every single game for their favorite team might need to look to another service for more comprehensive coverage of live sports over a wider range of networks.