Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media Networks and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks), and Paramount Pictures, while also including original series and films, live streaming sports coverage, and in the U.S., live streaming of local CBS broadcast stations.
The service was first launched in the United States on October 28, 2014, as CBS All Access; the service initially focused on the live streaming of CBS programming from its local affiliates, as well as on-demand access to CBS programs and library content. The service began to expand into original programming in 2016, beginning with spin-offs of CBS programs such as Big Brother, The Good Fight, and the new Star Trek television series Star Trek: Discovery. The service also began to expand into other markets, including Canada and Australia (the latter in conjunction with CBS's recently acquired Network 10).
In November 2019, CBS merged back into Viacom to form ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global); over 2020, plans were announced for content from Viacom Media Networks brands (including Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon, among others) and Paramount Pictures to be integrated into CBS All Access, wider international expansion and a larger slate of original programming, and to eventually relaunch the service to reflect its wider scope. In September 2020, it was officially announced that the service would rebrand as Paramount+ in 2021, taking its name from the Paramount Pictures film studio.
The rebranding took effect on March 4, 2021, concurrent with wider expansion into Latin America, and later Europe. The service is also available in all U.S. territories, except for Puerto Rico. The service was launched in South Korea, as a content hub, on June 16, 2022, and launched in the United Kingdom and Ireland on June 21, 2022—a day earlier than expected—where it is also available on the Amazon Prime Video platform as well as its standalone app. An announcement about the launch of Paramount+ in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria in the second half of the year was made in early 2022. Paramount+ has recently announced that the streaming service will be launched in France and French-speaking Switzerland on December 1, followed by its arrival in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland on December 8. Paramount+ was replaced in the Nordics by SkyShowtime, a joint venture with Comcast that also includes Sky Studios and NBCUniversal content. SkyShowtime will also be released in the rest of Europe in the coming months.
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