CBS All Access is set to become Paramount Plus next year because branding is hard

Disney has Disney Plus, Apple has Apple TV Plus, and now ViacomCBS is about to have Paramount Plus.

ViacomCBS announced that it would be renaming its CBS All Access streaming service to Paramount Plus in early 2021. As part of the rebrand, Paramount Plus will also receive five new original series from different verticals across the company, including Paramount, CBS, MTV, and BET. Some new titles include The Offer, a 10-episode scripted mini-series about the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather, a new iteration of MTV’s Behind The Music, and a revival of The Game. In addition to the new series orders announced today, ViacomCBS plans to bring more than 30,000 additional episodes and movies from its various content houses to the streaming service.

Now, the obvious question here is why Paramount Plus? Paramount is a celebrated film studio, but it doesn’t hold the same kind of weight and affinity among consumers at large the way Disney does. Plus, Paramount doesn’t exactly scream “for the younger generation” the way that ViacomCBS executives reportedly want it to. The whole reason for the name change is reportedly because executives thought the CBS label wouldn’t bring in new younger subscribers. They’re probably not wrong!

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