ViacomCBS Announces Paramount Name Change

By Aaron Perine

ViacomCBS will now be known as Paramount. In a memo to staff today ahead of an investor call, the company president and CEO Bob Bakish and Shari Redstone explained the move. "Effective February 16, we'll be bringing together our leading portfolio of premium entertainment properties under a new parent company name," they wrote. "This is an exciting moment in the history of our company." Paramount has name recognition and the unification of efforts is understandable after the large profile launch of Paramount+. For those who might be wondering, this will not mean a change in the branding of some of their stable of brands. Places like CBS, BET, and MTV will all remain the same. However, the unifying principal will be the name on the larger umbrella as the company serves a global audience. 

Redstone and Bakish wrote, "As Paramount, our name will reflect who we are, what we aspire to be, and all that we stand for. It will help advance our strategy of harnessing all our strength and breadth in building the businesses of tomorrow. And it will capture the collective power of our global assets, from our amazing brands—CBS, Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, Nickelodeon, Smithsonian, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, Pluto TV and more— to our global reach and our diverse audiences. All of which adds up to Paramount being the pre-eminent home to, and producers of, the world's greatest content."

"This is an exciting moment in the history of our company. Our streaming business is growing fast—and going global. Our broad and varied portfolio of content is captivating audiences around the world. Our brands are firing on all cylinders," the memo continued. "And as results from the fourth quarter and the whole of last year make clear, our momentum is accelerating. The size of the opportunity we see ahead is matched only by our determination to seize it."

"An iconic global company deserves an iconic global name. One that reflects the power of our content; one that reflects our role as stewards of a rich heritage and as leaders in the future of entertainment," the company continues. "With this in mind, as we're announcing today at our investor event, ViacomCBS is becoming Paramount Global, or, more simply, Paramount. 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."

Do you love the new name? Let us know down in the comments below!

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