ViacomCBS, which changed its name this week to Paramount Global, is going to bundle Paramount+ and Showtime as well as make all Paramount movies exclusive to its streaming platform.
During a Tuesday investor presentation, the company revealed that streaming service Paramount+ (formerly CBS All Access) added 7.3 million subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2021, reaching a whopping 32.8 million people.
That, according to Engadget, puts the platform ahead of Peacock (9 million paid subscribers) and smaller offerings like ESPN+ (7 million subscribers) and Discovery+ (20 million subscribers). "In just one year, Paramount+ has outperformed all expectations," the firm's chief financial officer Naveen Chopra said in a statement.
Starting this summer in the US, Paramount+ members can upgrade their existing subscription to include Showtime. Choose between two plans: $11.99 for Paramount+ Essential and Showtime or $14.99 for ad-free Paramount+ Premium and Showtime. The premium TV channel, meanwhile, will remain available as a standalone premium over-the-top (OTT) subscription service ($10.99 a month) and through third-party streaming platforms.
"We see a huge global opportunity in streaming, a much larger potential market than can be captured by linear TV and film alone," Paramount CEO Bob Bakish said in a statement. "We're excited about our ability to not just compete, but thrive," he continued.
As an added incentive to sign up to its digital platform, ViacomCBS also announced that, starting with 2024 film releases, Paramount+ will become the streaming home to all new Paramount Pictures movies, including upcoming projects like the untitled animated Transformers film, scheduled for its theatrical debut in July 2024.