ViacomCBS rebrands as Paramount, with SVOD launch set for France

ViacomCBS has rebranded itself as Paramount Global (to be known as Paramount) as the company set out new growth plans and an expansive slate of new international content for its streaming service Paramount+.

New content headed to the service included it first UK commissions and spin-offs from popular franchises including NCIS, Yellowstone, The Shore, as well as a Sexy Beast prequel and new Star Trek and Transformers movies.

“Paramount’s iconic peak represents a rich history for our company as pioneers in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Today, as we embrace the Paramount name, we are pioneers of an exciting new future,” explained company president and CEO Bob Bakish, speaking at an investor event yesterday. The name change will take effect today, 16 February.

As part of its global expansion, Paramount+ is to launch in France later this year, inking a long-term strategic partnership, that will see the service debut as an exclusive bundle with the Canal+ Group, that gives subscribers access. Paramount+ will also be made available DTC in the French market.

“We’re continuing to leverage our global footprint and long-standing relationships to expand Paramount+ into new markets with enormous potential quickly and economically,” commented Tom Ryan, president and CEO of streaming.

Bob Bakish

New goals & offering

ViacomCBS (now Paramount) is also raising its global streaming subscriber goal from 65-75 million to more than 100 million subscribers by the end of 2024, as well as its DTC revenue target for that year from $6n to $9bn.

This follows Paramount+ driving more than 56 million total global streaming subscribers and 84% revenue growth in the company’s DTC segment in 2021.

“In just one year, Paramount+ has outperformed all expectations,” said Naveen Chopra, EVP and CFO. “Our powerful content, marketing and distribution engines drove explosive growth as further proof of our ability to establish a sustainable, large scale streaming business with a differentiated global playbook.”

The company also revealed that beginning this summer, US Paramount+ subscribers will be able to upgrade their subscription to a bundle that includes Showtime – with the service also remaining available as a standalone OTT subscription.