Verizon +Play Adds Paramount Plus, Restarts Super-Aggressive Free Netflix Premium Promotion

Verizon +Play
(Image credit: Verizon)

Verizon on Thursday announced that it's adding Paramount Plus, along with nine other subscription video services, to its +Play wholesale app market. 

And starting on March 12, Verizon also said it’s restarting a super-aggressive promotion it conducted just last December when +Play emerged from beta — Verizon wireless and fixed wireless access home users will get a year free of the $19.99-a-month Netflix Premium tier when they sign up for a paid +Play subscription service. 

The other new services being added to +Play include: Blue Apron, FlixLatino, Kocowa+, Hallmark TV, Marquee TV, MasterClass, Quello Concerts by Stingray, UP Faith and Family, and Wondrium. 

The +Play market already includes Disney Plus, Hulu, ESPN Plus, Discovery Plus and AMC Plus, among many other services. 

“+Play features never-before-seen offers and bundles that give consumers the power to purchase the types of services and experiences they want at prices they’ll love. It’s a marketplace for our partners to leverage even broader direct-to-consumer reach and engagement, and it advances Verizon’s strategy of innovating and building new business models on our award-winning network,” Erin McPherson, chief content officer of Verizon Consumer Group, said in a statement. 

Verizon added 217,000 post-paid phone lines in the fourth quarter, along with a record 379,000 LTE and 5G FWA home internet customers. This subscriber growth came before the first Netflix promotion, however. 

Verizon has purchased 30 seconds of commercial time during Sunday’s 95th Oscars broadcast on ABC. Here's a look at that ad:

Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!