CBS All Access Will Rebrand as Paramount+, Expanding to 30,000+ Episodes of TV & Movies

It’s official, CBS All Access is changing its name to Paramount+ next year. The rebrand is part of a broader effort to make the service a more direct competition for other streaming services, like Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, and HBO Max.

One of the more alluring points of the new service is the fact that it’s getting additional content, when it relaunches in early 2021 expanding to 30,000+ TV episodes and movies from the company’s library. The service is currently $5.99 for the ad-supported version and $9.99 for the ad-free version, but the company hasn’t said if that will change with the relaunch.

“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,” said Bob Bakish, President and CEO, ViacomCBS. “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.”

ViacomCBS will be adding five new original series to the relaunched Paramount+:

• The Offer: scripted limited event series, based on Oscar-winning producer Al Ruddy’s extraordinary, never-revealed experiences of making “The Godfather.”
• Lioness: Based on a real-life CIA program, follows a young Marine recruited to befriend the daughter of a terrorist to bring the organization down from within.
• MTV’s Behind The Music - The Top 40: Unlocks MTV’s vault from the past 40 years for a unique and intimate look at the 40 biggest artists of all time, through their voices and their eyes.
• The Real Criminal Minds: True crime docuseries based on the hit CBS Television series.
• The Game: Revival of the beloved BET series.

They will join the previously announced Spongebob spin-off “Kamp Koral” series, along with the being the SVOD home of The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run.”

The company expects to expand Paramount Plus internationally in 2021, debuting first in Australia (where it currently exists as 10 All Access), Latin America, and the Nordics.

In August, ViacomCBS announced that their paid streaming services, CBS All Access and Showtime, continue to grow rapidly. Their domestic streaming subscribers reached 16.2 million (Showtime & CBS All Access), up 74 percent year-over-year. Last quarter, both services were at a combined 13.5 million subscribers, up 50 percent year-over-year.

The company says that August broke a new record for new sign-ups, likely due to the addition of UEFA Champions League to the platform.

ViacomCBS has since partnered with Apple to offer a discounted $9.99 bundle of CBS All Access (ad-free) and Showtime for Apple TV+ subscribers.

After merging Viacom and CBS, CBS All Access announced they added 70 shows with more than 3,500 episodes to the streaming platform from their brands like BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and more. Some of those included BET’s “Real Husbands of Hollywood,” MTV’s “Laguna Beach,” Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” and Comedy Central’s “Chappelle’s Show”, with more coming.

In addition to the library shows, the streaming service has also begun to roll-out a revamped user interface that will include advanced recommendations, curated homepages and new content categories.