ViacomCBS is changing its name to Paramount, adopting the studio brand name as part of a renewed focus on streaming.
The announcement came last week as the media conglomerate unveiled its fourth quarter 2021 results, which saw it finish the year with 56.1m streaming subscribers, of which 32.8m were attributed to Paramount+.
Paramount’s brands include CBS, Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, Nickelodeon, Smithsonian, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
In a memo to staff, chair Shari Redstone and president-CEO Bob Bakish said: “For more than a century, the name Paramount has been synonymous with great entertainment and industry leadership. It’s part of our history, as pioneers of the Golden Age of Hollywood. But as Paramount+ has made clear, it’s also about our bright future. And, not least, it’s an idea: a promise to be the best.”
The company forecast it will have 100 million subscribers to its streaming services by 2024, raising earlier guidance of 65 million to 75 million customers. Spending on new streaming programming will grow to more than $6 billion per year in 2024.
The company said that from 2024, Paramount+ will be the streaming home of all Paramount Pictures studio movies in the first pay window.
Paramount+ will also launch in France later this year as part of a bundle with Canal+.
Paramount also announced a large slate of programming to help draw new streaming customers.
Among them is a second season of upcoming video game TV adaptation series Halo, a Yellowstone spinoff called 1932, and two animated South Park movies every year through 2027.
IBC Digital provides industry insight and the opportunity to engage with exhibitors. Register here
No comments yet