Smithsonian Channel Plus Streaming Service to Shut Down, With Content Moving to CBS All Access
It looks like the end of the road has come for the Smithsonian Channel Plus streaming service. The streamer began informing customers that the service will be shutting down later this year, with final charges for Smithsonian Channel Plus coming between Oct. 2, 2020 and Nov. 2, 2020, unless users cancel prior to the billing date. After the final charge, users will continue to have access to the service for 30 days.
Though the service is shutting down, fans of its content need not worry. All its content—including hit series such as “Aerial America,” and “Secrets”—will be moving to CBS All Access. In commemoration of the move, the Smithsonian Channel Plus is offering users three months free of CBS All Access, commercial free. The extended free trial offer is only good through Nov. 30, 2020.
Current CBS All Access customers can simply go to the Smithsonian Channel page in the CBS All Access app to start streaming.
It seems the shutdown is part of a clean up parent company ViacomCBS is conducting before rebranding CBS All Access as Paramount+ next year. The company announced the change in September. 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.
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.