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CBS All Access will be rebranded as Paramount+ in the streaming service’s long-in-the-works major overhaul and expansion in early 2021, ViacomCBS said today.
Paramount+, which borrows the Paramount branding from ViacomCBS-owned movie studio Paramount Pictures and cable channel Paramount Network, will house all of CBS All Access’ on-demand and live programming, along with an expanded programming lineup from ViacomCBS brands like Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon. The streamer will also use the Paramount+ name as it rolls out internationally, beginning with an initial debut in Australia, Latin America and certain Nordic countries in early 2021.
The platform’s new name marks another milestone in its much-discussed transformation as ViacomCBS looks to grow its footprint in the accelerating streaming media space. The rebrand will also mark the end of the CBS All Access brand, which was one of the first legacy TV efforts in the streaming space when it was founded in October 2014.
“Paramount is an iconic and storied brand beloved by consumers all over the world, and it is synonymous with quality, integrity and world-class storytelling,” ViacomCBS president and CEO Bob Bakish said in a statement. “With Paramount+, we’re excited to establish one global streaming brand in the broad-pay segment that will draw on the sheer breadth and depth of the ViacomCBS portfolio to offer an extraordinary collection of content for everyone to enjoy.”
Agency Droga5 worked with the media company on the rebrand, which will also be accompanied by a substantial marketing campaign, Adweek previously reported. A spokesperson for the company said there was nothing to share yet about whether the price of the streamer would change. CBS All Access presently costs $5.99 a month for an ad-supported subscription, or $9.99 a month for ad-free viewing, but Apple TV+ subscribers can currently add both Showtime and ad-free CBS All Access for $10 a month.
The choice of Paramount+ as the name underscores the company’s continued affinity for the Paramount name. When Viacom rebranded cable channel Spike as Paramount Network in 2018, then-network president Kevin Kay told Adweek consumers have positive associations with the Paramount brand.
“It means what original programming is: Great stories, great storytelling, great characters, great talent in front of and behind the camera,” Kay said at the time. “It has no negatives. We did the research.”
But it also means that the new service will join the long list of streaming services using a plus sign in their name, including Apple TV+, Disney+ and ESPN+. ViacomCBS already has one plus in its own portfolio with niche streamer BET+.
CBS All Access’ evolution into the super-service that Paramount+ aims to become has already started. In July, the streamer rolled out a new user interface and an injection of 3,500 episodes of programming, with plans to increase the total content library to more than 30,000 episodes and movies before 2021.
The addition of new content, the company said, is already paying dividends: The service broke a new record for total monthly streams in August and recorded one of its best months ever in terms of subscriber sign-ups. Viewers are also trending younger on the service, which previously had an average age of 44.
“The response from consumers in just the early weeks of the service’s expansion already illustrates the tremendous opportunity ahead of us in bringing these phenomenal ViacomCBS brands together in one premium streaming home under the new Paramount+ name,” ViacomCBS chief digital officer and ViacomCBS Digital president and CEO Marc DeBevoise said in a statement. “With the addition of even more content from across the portfolio as well as the new exclusive originals we are announcing today, we look forward to the early 2021 rebrand and bringing existing and new subscribers more of the compelling, genre-spanning live sports, breaking news and mountain of entertainment ViacomCBS has to offer.”