Why Yellowstone, Paramount’s Biggest Show, Doesn’t

Yellowstone is Paramount Network’s biggest hit to date. It’s also one of the biggest hits on cable, period. The cliffhanger finale of season three drew the largest audience of any scripted TV show on cable in 2020, clocking in at 7.6 million viewers. Its fourth season premiere in November nearly doubled with 14.7 million viewers. And the streaming service Paramount Plus would seem like a natural place for anyone hoping to watch the fourth season or its finale, which just hit Sunday.

But, paradoxically, the one show most associated with the Paramount name is nowhere to be found on Paramount Plus.

If you want to stream Yellowstone’s finale, you’ll need to try to unlock the Paramount Network app, not Paramount Plus.

If you want to binge Yellowstone’s back catalog, you can watch it on the Paramount Network app (if you can unlock it), or head over to Paramount Plus rival Peacock, the only subscription with the first three. There’s a special deal in the form of a streaming service. season’s. And, eventually, all fourth seasons of Yellowstone will appear on Peacock — but not on Paramount Plus.

As confusing as it is, this is by design. Yellowstone isn’t the only high-profile ViacomCBS title missing from Paramount Plus and streaming elsewhere: If you’re looking for Comedy Central’s South Park, for example, you need to check out HBO Max. Content licensing is a big business for ViacomCBS, and so does revenue generated by having a hit show on traditional cable networks like the Paramount Network.

ViacomCBS made a bet that some top-shelf programs could be more valuable — and reach more eyeballs — if they were available elsewhere besides Paramount Plus, even if it meant a bigger Paramount show like Yellowstone on Paramount Plus. Not there. All. (In retrospect, this can be a bad bet from time to time.)

Like the rest of the parade of new streaming services—including Disney Plus, HBO Max, Apple TV Plus, Peacock and Discovery Plus—Paramount Plus hopes that its exclusive combination of TV and movies will connect you with your own vision for the future of TV. Will give , But Byzantine licensing like Yellowstone underscores that even when a service like Paramount Plus rallies around its content, it still isn’t easy to find and watch your favorite shows and movies online.

where you can stream yellowstone season 4

The main difference to know is that Paramount Plus differs from Paramount Network, where the Yellowstone finale and the rest of Season 4 airs. Paramount Network is a traditional cable channel available to those who pay for it through a live-TV provider.

On Paramount Plus, you can’t stream Yellowstone – old episodes or new ones – at all.

If you want to stream any episodes of Season 4, the only place to watch is on Paramount Network’s channel, website, or app. And Yellowstone’s latest season only streams to “certified” online viewers—that is, people who can log in with their live-TV service’s credentials to prove they’re already on Paramount Network. are paying.

Paramount Network’s shows and movies, including the Yellowstone finale and every other episode, are available to stream on the web at paramountnetwork.com or its Paramount Network app.

But to be a “certified” viewer, you’ll need to already pay for the channel with a live-TV subscription, such as cable, satellite, or a live-channel streaming service like YouTube TV or Philo. (Filo is one of the cheapest online options for getting access to the Paramount network; it also offers a one-week free trial.)

One exception: Paramount has kept the premiere episode of Yellowstone’s fourth season off its paywall, so anyone is able to stream the episode — Half the Money — for free on the Paramount Network’s app or website.

But if you want to watch the finale or any other episode other than the fourth season premiere, you’ll need a pay-TV subscription to log in.

If you’re a cord-cutter or otherwise don’t have access to the Paramount network, and you want to binge the first three seasons, you need to go to Peacock. The fourth season will eventually stream on Peacock as well. Peacock hasn’t announced at the time that it will begin streaming the fourth season of Yellowstone, but you can expect it to be months from now.

So what exactly does Paramount Plus have to do with Yellowstone? By-product. On December 19, Paramount Plus began streaming a prequel called 1883, which focuses on the Dutton family more than a century ago as they move west and establish Yellowstone Ranch. and on November 14, Paramount Plus premiered The Mayor of Kingstown, a drama series co-produced by Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan; While the Mayor of Kingstown isn’t directly tied to Yellowstone, Paramount Plus is pitching it as a spiritual spinoff.

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