ViacomCBS made a lot of waves when the merger between the two companies completed last year. Now, the company has announced plans to launch a new service with content from Paramount, Viacom, and CBS All Access. Both entities had streaming services on their own with Showtime and CBS All Access, but now they’re going to combine their efforts into this new venture. Viacom’s output is one of the big draws here as heavy hitters like Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Pictures, and Pluto TV are all going to make their way to the platform. Product discussions are private at this stage according to CNBC, but there are enough details to announce that this is on the way.
An ad-free version will be available alongside a premium version of the service that folds Showtime into the package. There has been no name announced yet or pricing details. Base service is estimated to come in under $10 a month according to sources. That would position the product well in a landscape that is only growing more crowded by the day. Disney+, Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV+, Peacock and HBO Max will all be in the fray by the end of the year and ViacomCBS doesn’t want to miss out on their chance to compete.
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There have been rumblings that this is all heading towards a sort of post-cable reality for some consumers. (Although, this set up is beginning to look more and more like cable by the day…) Movies, kids programming, and original series have been the three main columns for a bunch of these services and Viacom is bringing all of these offerings to the table after the merger. It remains to be seen how this will all shake out as the “streaming wars” enters its next phase this year.
Back when the merger occurred, Chair of the ViacomCBS board Shari Redstone had this to say, “I am really excited to see these two great companies come together so that they can realize the incredible power of their combined assets. My father once said ‘content is king’ and never has that been more true than today.”
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