A new streamer is hitting the market. Paramount Plus will be replacing CBS All Access, and is arriving to the US this March, Variety report. It will be home to Star Trek, South Park and more, and was first announced back in September.
Paramount Plus will stream classic content like all four Indiana Jones movies (though the fifth, currently in development, is in Lucasfilm and Disney’s hands), as well as new originals like The Offer, a scripted series about the making of The Godfather – and that trilogy will also be streaming on the new service. Paramount Plus will also be home to the Star Trek franchise, including new series like Lower Decks and Discovery.
The streamer will be the place to go for Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and BET content, too, and there’ll be a way to watch live sports, including the NFL.
The big question about a new streamer launching now is if it can survive the competitive landscape, or if it will go the way of Quibi. Paramount’s impressive catalogue, which includes the Mission: Impossible franchise, will give it a boost – but it doesn’t have the same range as, say, Disney Plus, which includes Marvel and Lucasfilm content along with its own classic offerings.
Another big question is if upcoming Paramount films will debut on the streamer, in a similar way to Disney Plus’ Premier Access or HBO Max’s simultaneous streaming and theatrical release strategy. Some of Paramount's upcoming films are Top Gun: Maverick, A Quiet Place Part 2, Scream (the fifth instalment in the franchise), and two Mission: Impossible movies, which could potentially end up debuting on the streamer if the pandemic shows no signs of improving.
Plus, Variety report that CBS All Access currently has around eight to nine million subscribers, which is pretty low for a streaming service. Time will tell if the rebrand, and additional content, can put Paramount Plus in the same bracket as Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Variety also say that Paramount Plus will arrive to the Nordics in late March, and in Australia mid-2021, while CBS All Access in Canada will be rebranded but won't get the additional content until later this year. This does suggest an eventual international release plan, at least, but it's not currently set for a UK launch.
Paramount Plus launches in the US on March 4 2021. Until then, check out our roundup of the best Netflix movies and best Netflix shows.
