Already-launched Paramount+ To Sunset in Nordic Nations in Favor of SkyShowtime
In the midst of this week’s big announcement of the upcoming SkyShowtime service launching in Europe next year, is the question of what happens to the already-launched instance of Paramount+ in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.
According to Variety, ViacomCBS will shut down its standalone version of Paramount+ in the Nordic nations — Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland — less than a year after launching in order to merge it with SkyShowtime, a new joint venture from ViacomCBS and Comcast.
The pair announced SkyShowtime on Wednesday, which will bring together entertainment, movies, and original series from NBCUniversal, Sky, Sky Studios, Universal Pictures, and Peacock, as well as ViacomCBS’ portfolio of brands, such as Showtime, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, and Paramount+ Originals for more than 20 European territories — including the Baltics nations.
Sources told Variety that Comcast and ViacomCBS concluded a team-up, “would be the most ‘economically viable’ way to enter the particular set of European markets, which include the Nordic countries.”
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and more. The lineup includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.
Obviously, “SkySho” makes Paramount+ redundant in those nations, as it’ll feature all the same content plus Comcast’s library of movies and shows, but it’s still odd to see so much turnover the past few years. Paramount+ launched overseas in March and will already undergo a name change, similar to CBS All Access’ quick reboot in the States.
“With the launch of SkyShowtime we are well-positioned to utilize our global content engine to create a compelling streaming offering, quickly and at scale, with a smart strategic phased investment,” said Raffaele Annecchino, president & CEO of ViacomCBS Networks International. “As a complement to our recently announced Paramount+ partnership with Sky in the UK, Italy, and Germany, SkyShowtime represents a huge opportunity to accelerate our market expansion and build a leadership position in SVOD in Europe.”
SkyShowtime is expected to launch in 2022, subject to regulatory approval. It will ultimately be available to consumers in Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.