Paramount+ launch date: CBS All Access officially rebranding
ViacomCBS has finally announced the relaunch date of CBS All Access, confirming that the streaming service will officially be rebranding as Paramount+ this coming March. Paramount+ will take effect in the U.S. and Canada on Thursday, March 4, in the Nordics on March 25 and in Australia by mid-2021 with Canada also getting an expanded offering available later this year.
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Paramount+ will feature original content as well as shows from CBS and other broadcast networks such as MTV, Comedy Central, BET, Paramount Network and Nickelodeon. Showtime, the sister streaming service to CBS All Access, will continue to operate separately from Paramount+. Some Showtime-branded originals will be ticketed for the new service and some form of bundling is likely down the line.
In addition, the company has also revealed the new slate of original series that are currently being in development under Paramount+. This includes: a new spy drama series titled Lioness which hails from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan: a miniseries titled The Offer which centers around the making of the iconic crime drama The Godfather; and iCarly revival series.
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ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish told Wall Street analysts last May that the streaming platform would be getting a rebranding that will also expand internationally over the next 12 months. After the quarterly earnings call, the service began its updating by adding over 100 films from the Paramount vault including the Star Trek franchise, The Godfather, Terms of Endearment and An Inconvenient Truth.
Other networks set to have programming debut on the platform include Smithsonian and the Paramount Network and a select number of specials and series from BET, which launched its own streaming service in September entitled BET+.
As of the end of March, CBS All Access and Showtime together had 13.5 million subscribers, which was a 50% increase from the same quarter last year, with general streaming revenue also rising 50% in the quarter to $471 million, estimated to stem from more viewers quarantining and looking for a variety of programming.
