To date, Yellowstone is by far the most popular show on the Paramount Network. Additionally, it’s one of the most-watched shows on cable television. 7.6 million people tuned in to watch the cliffhanger finale of season 3 in 2020, making it the most-watched scripted TV show on cable that year. Season 4’s November premiere on the Paramount Network drew 14.7 million viewers, more than double that. If you’re looking for a location to stream the show, then Paramount Plus would be the obvious choice. It’s ironic that Paramount’s signature show is conspicuously absent from Paramount Plus.
Season 4 of Yellowstone is available to stream on Peacock, a competitor streaming service. You may either view Yellowstone on Peacock, which has an exclusive arrangement to be the only subscription service streaming Yellowstone, or you can try to unlock the Paramount Network app. On the other hand, it’s not available on Paramount Plus. To be fair, it’s not entirely by accident. It’s not just Yellowstone that’s absent from the Paramount Plus streaming service: If you’re a fan of South Park on Comedy Central, you’ll want to check out HBO Max.
With content licensing and traditional cable network revenue, Paramount has a lot to gain from having a popular show on a cable network like Paramount Network. Because of this, Paramount has decided that some of its best shows are more valuable if they can be found elsewhere other than on Paramount Plus, even if it means shows like Yellowstone, one of the company’s biggest hits, aren’t available there. (In hindsight, that may have been a terrible gamble.) There are now a slew of new streaming services in the market (Disney Plus; HBO; Apple TV; Peacock; and Discovery Plus), and Paramount Plus aspires to be the latest in a long line of them. Byzantine licensing deals like Yellowstone’s, however, indicate that even when a service like Paramount Plus rallies around its own material, this does not necessarily make it easier for you to find and watch your favorite episodes and movies online.
You Can and Can’t Watch Yellowstone Online
Paramount Plus is distinct from Paramount Network, and that’s about all you need to know. However, Paramount Network, a standard cable channel available to customers who pay through a live-TV provider, is a subscription streaming service while Paramount Plus is a traditional cable channel.
Yellowstone’s fourth season premiered on Paramount Network, as well as all previous seasons.
Peacock is the only subscription streaming service that has Yellowstone, so there’s the second thing to note. Old and new episodes of Yellowstone are also unavailable for streaming on Paramount Plus.
Network Paramount
Yellowstone episodes can be streamed on the Paramount Network’s website, TV channel, and mobile apps. “Authenticated” internet viewers — those who can check in with their live-TV service’s credentials to confirm they’ve already paid for Paramount Network — can watch the fourth season of Yellowstone.
However, the first episode of Yellowstone’s fourth season, titled “Half the Money,” is available free of charge on the Paramount Network app or website, so anyone can watch it. You can stream all of Paramount Network’s series and movies, including every episode of Yellowstone, at paramountnetwork.com or through the Paramount Network app. Only people who already have a live-TV subscription-like cable or satellite or a live-channel streaming provider such as YouTube TV or Philo can be “authenticated” viewers of the channel (Philo offers a free week of access to Paramount Network as one of the cheapest online options.)
Peacock
Since Peacock started in 2020, the first three seasons of Yellowstone have been available in Peacock’s library, including the fourth season. With the exception of the first episode of season 1, every episode of Yellowstone is locked behind a paywall. You must have a subscription to Peacock to watch any episodes other than the first one, which costs $5 or $10 a month.
It’s Called Pluto Tv, and It’s (but You Already Missed It.
Pluto TV differs from the other streaming services in that it offers a more diverse selection of content. With no registration necessary, you may watch it for free with advertising and no obligation. On the other hand, Pluto TV includes a collection of episodes and movies that you can access at any time, but its foundation is based on “channels” that play programming in one continuous stream, just like traditional television. One weekend in March, Pluto TV aired the whole first three seasons of Yellowstone. In the first season, Pluto’s More TV Drama channel aired Yellowstone on Friday, the second season on Saturday, and the final season on Sunday. You couldn’t pause, rewind, skip, or otherwise select which episode you wanted to watch on-demand if you watched it on Pluto. On-demand service Pluto TV, which is owned by Paramount, has stated that Yellowstone will not be available. For those who missed the marathon this weekend, Pluto stated that the show will be available again later this year, but did not provide a specific day or time.
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In Addition to Paramount,
In the absence of Yellowstone, what else does Paramount Plus offer? Spinoffs. 1883, a prequel focusing on the Dutton family’s journey to the west and establishing the Yellowstone Ranch, debuted on December 19 on Paramount Plus. In addition to 1932, the streaming service plans to provide another spinoff. There are also a number of shows that are either inspired by or produced by Taylor Sheridan, the creator of Yellowstone.
Weird that You Would Expect Yellowstone’s Live Stream to Be Somewhere Else
In Hollywood, each new streaming service decides for itself how much content it wants to keep. Some streaming services have taken a more aggressive approach to re-distributing their content. There is little doubt that Disney has been consistent in letting its licensing agreements expire with other companies. For four years, Netflix was allowed to broadcast Disney’s theatrical releases for an estimated $200 to $300 million per year.
In order to build its own library of content, Disney Plus decided to let the Netflix arrangement expire and stopped distributing its blockbusters to other streaming services. Additionally, NBCUniversal gained the rights to its own sitcom The Office back from Netflix so that Peacock could stream the sitcom exclusively beginning in 2021, in addition to licensing Yellowstone. The rights to all eight Harry Potter films have been regularly reclaimed by WarnerMedia’s HBO Max, which is owned by HBO. All of those movies were leased to NBCUniversal by WarnerMedia’s Warner Bros. in an epic agreement years ago. As a result, NBCUniversal’s Peacock was the first to offer them for streaming instead of HBO Max. To help HBO Max gain popularity, WarnerMedia has constantly snagged them back.
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Unlike Other Major Studios, Paramount Plus Has Been Significantly More Eager to License Its Best-Known Titles.
In Part, This Is Because the Business of Licensing out Titles May Be Rather Lucrative. About a Quarter of Paramount’s Total Revenue Came from Licensing Last Year: $5.6 Billion. a Wide Range of Licenses, from Tv Syndication to Paw Patrol Plush Animals and Costumes, Contributes to The Company’s Financial Stability. However, Paramount Plus’ Immediate Competitors Are Also Receiving Titles Like Yellowstone, South Park, and Others. a Company that Licenses Its Own Software to Only Its Own Service Forfeits Money that Could Have Been Earned Elsewhere. Also, Paramount Has a Huge Back Collection of Around 140,000 Television Episodes and 4,000 Films. These Are Things that Paramount Does Not Want on Paramount Plus. “we Can’t Keep It All for Ourselves. Surely It’s Not Logical, Is It? “during the Launch of Paramount Plus Last Year, Ceo Bob Bakish Made This Statement. ‘it’s Just Too Much,’ She Exclaimed.
With Respect to How Much of Its Own Programming to License and How Much to Keep for One’s Own Use, Bakish Has Stated that The Company’s Strategy Is “changing” During an Interview in November, He Stated that The Company’s Licensing Strategy Had “changed to Become Much More Focused” on Having Its Own Franchises on Its Own Streaming Service. a Company’s Pre-Paramount Plus Agreement “legacy” Can Have a Long-Term Effect, He Noted
This Contract with Peacock Came at A “unfortunate” Time for Bakish, Who Had Just Completed an Acquisition. However, Paramount Plus Believed that By Allowing Other, Larger Services to Stream Some of Its Titles, It May Attract More New Members than It Would Otherwise Make from Licensing. Paramount Plus’s Reboots and Spinoffs Will Have a Larger Fan Base if The Original Show’s Audience Is Widened by Additional Platforms, According to Bakish. What You’re Seeing Is an Odd Type of Logic Here. Netflix, on The Other Hand, Has Over 221 Million Subscribers Globally, Compared to The 33 Million Subscribers of Paramount Plus. Appreciation of The Avatar Avatar: The Last Airbender Had a Rise in Popularity After Its Release on Netflix in 2020, Which No Doubt Contributed to Viacom Cbs’ Decision in 2021 to Open a Brand New Studio Exclusively for Original Avatar Content.
Having Yellowstone on Peacock Doesn’t Help Paramount Expand Its Audience, Which Is a Shame. It’s Smaller than Paramount Plus: Peacock Is There Were 24.5 Million Active Users at The End of 2021, but Only 16 Million of Those Have Paid to Unlock Yellowstone. in The Last Few Months, Paramount Has Begun Reuniting Some of The Biggest Properties on Its Own Streaming Service. There Has Been a Steady Transition from Hbo Max to Paramount Plus for South Park, the Firm Said in February. New Episodes of South Park Will Broadcast on Paramount Plus Rather than Hbo Max in 2024. Paramount Plus Will Provide Access to South Park’s Entire Back Library in The United States by 2025. However, Paramount Has Been Mute About Reclaiming Yellowstone.
As a Result, Newcomers to Any of The Yellowstone Prequels on Paramount Plus Will Need to Look Elsewhere to Learn About the Dutton Family’s Origins in Montana and Their Rise to Prominence as Ranching Titans.