Paramount Plus is definitely brave for being the latest to venture into the world of streaming services. On the one hand, services like Apple TV are investing literally billions of dollars to carve a place for themselves with original content, and on the other, entertainment brands like Disney and HBO are transitioning from cable to online streaming like it’s a necessary next step in their evolution process.

Paramount Plus is like the latter in terms of the kind of streaming service that it is. The brand is evolving to stay relevant with its audience and taking steps to add new ones to its roster. So if you are curious about Paramount Plus, here’s everything you need to know.    

What is Paramount Plus? 

Paramount Plus by ViacomCBS is a new name for the comapny’s CBS All Access service, which is a global streaming service with a comprehensive library of shows and movies along with a portfolio of few originals which have been produced by its parent company.

In order to increase its streaming footprint, ViacomCBS is merging all channels under its roster into one single streaming service i.e Paramount Plus.

As part of this merger, Showtime and CBS titles that run on the CBS All Access service will also become part of Paramount Plus’s roster. Even CBS All Access will become a part of Paramount Plus. This entire supersizing process is being done under the Paramount Plus branding as a means to compete with giants like Netflix and Amazon. 

When is Paramount Plus releasing?

Paramount Plus will launch in phases starting with the US and parts of Latin America on March 4, 2021. The Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland) are expected to get Paramount Plus on March 25, 2021, and Paramount Plus will launch in Australia a month or two later.

As part of the release, all pre-existing CBS All Access accounts will become Paramount Plus accounts, and the entire roster of shows and movies from Paramount and ViacomCBS’s other channels will be added to this streaming network. 

There is yet to be any confirmation regarding how Paramount Plus will distribute the shows in different locations. Since some of its shows like Star Trek: Picard are already available on Amazon Prime in the US, whether Paramount Plus will exclude the show in the US territory and keep it for other regions where Prime does not own streaming rights is a question that is yet to be addressed.

Paramount Plus Shows

Paramount Plus is being reinforced with more than 30,000 movies and TV episodes. The content includes the existing 20,000+ episodes that are already on CBS All Access. The 30,000 movies and TV episodes will include over 1,400 episodes of popular series from Paramount Network, MTV, Comedy Central, Channel 5 UK, and Nickelodeon which are ViacomCBS’s other entertainment brands.  

Besides this, the latest Paramount films will be available exclusively on the streaming service within a year of their official cinematic release. 

A wide roster of pre-existing shows and movies which include Sonic, Gemini Man, Paw Patrol, The Hills, Rocketman, Yellowstone, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Awkwafina in Nora from Queens, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and South Park will be available on Paramount Plus. 

A Paramount Plus subscription will give you access to all shows that are and will continue to be available from the Paramount Network, MTV, Comedy Central, Channel 5 UK, VH1, Nickelodeon, and NickJr entertainment brands.

In terms of live content, all the shows that are currently available on CBS All Access like ET Live 24/7, CBSN, CBS Sports HQ, UEFA matches will be available on Paramount Plus. Besides all these shows, Paramount Plus will also have originals to compete with Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Taylor Sheridan’s new spy drama Lioness, the VH1 classic Behind the Music, a revival of football-themed comedy The Game, and true-crime series The Real Criminal Minds are expected to launch on Paramount Plus in the near future.

How much will a Paramount Plus subscription cost?

The cost of the Paramount Plus subscription plans have not been released yet. There is speculation that it will cost $5.99 with ads and $9.99 for ad-free just like CBS All Access. However, we will only be able to confirm once ViacomCBS releases the subscription plans for Paramount Plus.

Who owns Paramount Plus? 

Paramount Plus is owned by the ViacomCBS Networks International, a subsidiary of Viacom CBS Inc. ViacomCBS owns some of the most prominent entertainment brands and channels like MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, and Nickelodeon. Even CBS All Access is owned by ViacomCBS and Paramount Plus is an effort to consolidate all their shows and movies in one place. 

How does Paramount Plus fare in comparison to other streaming services? 

It’s quite a challenge as it is, to enter a heavily saturated and aggressively competitive space like online video-streaming. With streaming mammoths like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO Max, and Apple TV having a well-established user base, Paramount Plus is already at a disadvantage.

If the numbers are anything to go by, then having to compete with Netflix’s 73.08 million US subscribers, Amazon Prime’s 112 million US subscribers,  Disney Plus’s 74 million worldwide subscribers, and Apple TV’s 33.6 million US subscribers is already a difficult feat to pull off.

With CBS All Access having only 17.3 million subscribers so far, it certainly needs to step up, and rebranding as Paramount Plus is definitely a good way to do this.  

If CBS All Access wants to survive and eventually thrive, then it must embrace the clout that Paramount Plus will provide. The fresh injection of both original and pre-existing content will give it the volume required to take on the mammoths and rebranding with a global name will definitely make users take note. Of course, only time will tell how this streaming network does. 

So what do you think about Paramount Plus? From the looks of it, ViacomCBS is leaving no stone unturned to make this streaming service as appealing as possible. We suspect even the pricing will be very competitive to make sure that users sign up. Do let us know in the comments what you think about this new streaming service. Take care and stay safe!