Much of this has to do with justifying a monthly charge for television—which, back in the day, used to be free. A more complete name would be "Paramount + a Bill."

Hulu used to have a "plus" service, which was a misnomer since what customers got with it was the absence of ads. "We've had a blast with our old friend Plus," the company explained in a 2015 email, "but it's time to move on. We just wanted to let you know that we are retiring the Hulu Plus name. From now on, we will just be known as Hulu. No ‘Plus.' "

Despite this, other streaming services have been drawn to the "+" due in large part to the remarkable success of Disney+, which added 86 million subscribers during its first year. Disney also operates ESPN+ and, outside the U.S., Star+.

David Leavy, chief operating officer for Discovery, told the Los Angeles Times: "Our research confirmed that the plus sign has become synonymous with streaming-video on demand services." So, of course, Mr. Leavy's service is named Discovery+, whether you take it with or without commercials.

Funny thing about marketing: a plus is always a plus but a minus is never a minus—even though more products are notable for what they omit. Budweiser wouldn't call beer from which it has removed some calories Bud–. There are fat-free chips, but they're not Pringles–. Nabisco sells sugar-free cookies but clearly Oreos– is a nonstarter.

Americans have a fondness for plus-size portions, plus-size clothing and media that have plus signs in their names. (The Journal offers perks to subscribers under the moniker, WSJ+.) Mercifully, the plus thing hasn't yet pervaded more important aspects of our lives. Senate Democrats have refrained from calling Donald Trump's second trial Impeachment+. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn't refer to the new coronavirus variant as Covid+.

And Kim Kardashian, to the best of my knowledge, never called Kanye West "Husband+++."

(c) Peter Funt. This column originally appeared in The Wall Street Journal.