ViacomCBS
CBS All Access is getting a new name and look early next year: ViacomCBS said Tuesday it will rebrand its existing streaming service as Paramount Plus, unveiling the name change after previously announcing its plans for a 2021 revamp of CBS All Access. The rebranded Paramount Plus service will include live news and sports content, as well as on-demand programming from MTV, BET, Comedy Central, CBS and other ViacomCBS brands, plus movies from the Paramount Pictures studio.
(Editors’ note: ViacomCBS is the parent company of CNET.)
The CBS All Access slate of originals will continue to stream there after the change to Paramount Plus, and the service announced new originals to come, including a spy drama called Lioness created by Taylor Sheridan, who also helped create Yellowstone. Other new originals include The Offer, which goes behind the scenes of the making of the classic film The Godfather; The Real Criminal Minds, a true-crime docuseries; and reboots of MTV’s Behind the Music and BET’s The Game.
The company didn’t detail prices. CBS All Access currently has two subscription options: a $5.99-a-month tier supported by advertising and a $9.99-a-month tier without commercials.
The refresh of CBS All Access comes after a parade of streaming competitors launched over the past year to take on established players like Netflix and Hulu. New big-budget services like Disney Plus, HBO Max, Apple TV Plus and Peacock have rolled out in what’s dubbed the “streaming wars.” But more than just corporations jousting to dominate the future of television, these competitive battles could also influence how many services you’ll have to use — and, often, pay for — to watch your favorite shows and movies online.
In the case of Paramount Plus, the coming changes are designed to better compete in the streaming market and reflect the merger of Viacom and CBS into a single company. CBS launched All Access in 2014, and CBS and Viacom merged in 2019.
On Tuesday, ViacomCBS said it also plans to bring Paramount Plus to international markets, initially starting with Australia, Latin America and Nordic countries.
Leading up to the 2021 relaunch as Paramount Plus, the service will continue to expand its catalog to more than 30,000 episodes and movies and continue to develop additional original series, ViacomCBS said in a release.
