Paramount Plus Streaming Service Launches on March 4
ViacomCBS has announced its official launch date for streaming service Paramount+, which will serve as an expanded rebranding of CBS All Access. Paramount+ is set to go live in the United States and Latin America on March 4.
CBS All Access originally debuted in 2014, offering live streaming of CBS’ network programming along with a slate of original and library shows. Paramount+ will include all of CBS All Access’ titles plus dedicated hubs for ViacomCBS’ cable channels including Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, and Comedy Central. All in all, the new streaming platform will have an estimated 30,000 titles.
Currently, CBS All Access has approximately 8 to 9 million subscribers. In comparison, Netflix has 195 million subscribers as of September 2020. Amazon, Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max have steadily grown their user bases as well, making it difficult for a new platform to break through. As ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish stated, Paramount+ will attempt to stand out by offering “a linked ecosystem of differentiated offerings across free and pay streaming.”
That means that Paramount+ will still have a subscription fee, but there will also be an ad-supported component featuring CBS live streams and CBS News. The company’s ambitious streaming strategy has received high marks from what Deadline describes as “influential analysts” over the last few weeks. “We’ve written positively on our expectations for Paramount+, stating we think the platform can be a winner in the streaming wars given its mix of strong IP, news, and sports,” wrote JPMorgan’s Alexia Quadrani on January 12.
Paramount+ will arrive in the Nordics on March 25 and in Australia mid-year. In Canada, Paramount+ will debut on March 4, but the expanded content offerings won’t be available until later in 2021.
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