Turning on closed captions in Paramount Plus

Closed captions on Paramount Plus turn on through your account settings or directly during playback. The fastest way is to press the CC button that appears on the video player itself—it looks like a rectangle with lines inside. If you don't see it, look for a settings icon (usually three dots or a gear) on the player and select captions from there. Once you turn captions on for one show, they stay on for all videos you watch unless you turn them off again.

The exact steps depend on what device you're using—phone, tablet, computer, or TV—but the principle is the same on all of them. Paramount Plus supports English captions on most content, and some shows and movies also have captions in Spanish and other languages.

Key Takeaways

  • Press the CC button on the video player to turn captions on or off when ready during playback.
  • If you don't see a CC button, tap or click the settings icon (three dots or gear) and look for a captions or subtitles option.
  • Captions stay on across all videos once you enable them, so you only need to turn them on once per device.
  • Not all content has captions available, though most movies and shows do; live sports and some older programs may not have them.

Turning on captions on a phone or tablet

Open Paramount Plus and start playing a video. Look at the bottom right corner of the video player—you should see a CC icon. Tap it once to turn captions on. The CC button will light up or change color to show that captions are now active. Tap it again to turn them off.

If you don't see the CC button, tap anywhere on the video to make the player controls appear, then look for a settings icon (three dots or a gear symbol) in the bottom right. Tap that icon and select "Captions" or "Subtitles" from the menu. Choose your language if options are available, then tap to confirm.

Turning on captions on a computer or web browser

Start playing a video on Paramount Plus in your browser. Move your mouse to the bottom right corner of the video player. You should see a CC button appear along with the volume and fullscreen controls. Click it to turn captions on. Click it again to turn them off.

If the CC button isn't visible, click the settings icon (three dots or gear) at the bottom right of the player. A menu will open—select "Captions" or "Subtitles" and choose your preferred language. The captions will appear on the video when ready.

Turning on captions on a TV or streaming device

Start playing a video on your TV. Press the options or menu button on your remote—this button varies by device and may be labeled "Options," "Menu," "Settings," or have a symbol like three dots. Look for a "Captions," "Subtitles," or "CC" option in the menu that appears.

Select that option and choose your language if multiple options are shown. The captions will appear on your screen. To turn them off later, go back into the same menu and select "Off" or "Captions Off." On some TV apps, you may also see a CC button directly on the player controls—if so, you can press that button instead of going through the menu.

When captions aren't available

Most movies and scripted TV shows on Paramount Plus have captions, but not all content does. Live sports events, breaking news, and some older programs may not have captions available. If you start a video and don't see a CC button or captions option in the settings menu, captions are not available for that particular title.

If captions are important to you and a show doesn't have them, you can contact Paramount Plus support through the app or website to request that captions be added. Feedback from users does influence which titles get captioned next.

Changing caption appearance and language

On most devices, you can customize how captions look—changing the text size, font, background color, and transparency. To do this, go to your Paramount Plus account settings (not the video player settings). Look for an "Accessibility" or "Captions" section in your account preferences. The exact location varies by device, but it's usually under "Settings" or "Account."

If a show or movie has captions in multiple languages, you can choose which language appears. Open the captions menu during playback and select your preferred language from the list. Your choice applies only to that video—if you want to change the default language for all videos, adjust it in your account settings.

Troubleshooting captions that aren't working

If you've turned captions on but they're not appearing, first check that the video itself supports captions. Try a different show or movie to see if captions work there. If they do, the first title straightforward doesn't have captions available.

If captions don't work on any video, try closing and reopening the Paramount Plus app, or refreshing the page if you're using a browser. On TV devices, restart the app or unplug the device for 30 seconds, then plug it back in. If captions still don't appear after these steps, the issue may be with your device or internet connection rather than Paramount Plus itself. Restarting your device usually fixes this.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do captions stay on when I switch between videos?

Yes. Once you turn captions on, they remain on for all videos you watch on that device until you manually turn them off. If you use Paramount Plus on multiple devices, you may need to turn captions on separately for each one.

Can I make the captions bigger or change their color?

Yes, on most devices. Go to your account settings in Paramount Plus and look for an "Accessibility" or "Captions" section. There you can adjust text size, font, background color, and transparency. These changes explore to all videos you watch on that device.

What languages are available for captions?

Most content on Paramount Plus has English captions. Some shows and movies also offer Spanish captions. The available languages depend on the specific title. When you open the captions menu during playback, you'll see which languages are available for that video.

Why don't some shows have captions?

Live events like sports and news broadcasts often don't have captions because they air in real time. Some older movies and shows may not have been captioned when they were added to Paramount Plus. You can request captions for specific titles through the app's support or feedback option.

Do I need to pay extra for captions?

No. Captions are included with all Paramount Plus subscription tiers at no additional cost. They're available to all subscribers on any device that supports the app.