ViacomCBS has set a date for the previously announced relaunch and rebranding of CBS All Access, home of the new Star Trek Universe TV shows.
Paramount+ arrives on March 4
This morning, ViacomCBS announced Paramount+ will launch in the U.S. on Thursday, March 4, 2021. This new subscription streaming service will replace CBS All Access and become the home of Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Short Treks, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Lower Decks. New shows such as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds—which goes into production in early 2021—will also launch as Paramount+ original series.
Paramount+ will include library and original content from across ViacomCBS including Paramount Network, MTV, VH1, BET, Comedy Central, Smithsonian, and Nickelodeon, as well films from the Paramount library. Paramount+ is being positioned to take on streaming services from ViacomCBS’ rivals like NBCUniversal’s Peacock, WarnerMedia’s HBO Max, and Disney+.
More details on Paramount+ will be revealed during an investor event on February 24, 2021.
UPDATE: CBS All Access shared this quick video on social media explaining the transition for subscribers.
Live sports, breaking news, and a mountain of entertainment. CBS All Access is becoming Paramount+ on March 4th. pic.twitter.com/nLdA9pgaUP
— Paramount+ (@paramountplus) January 19, 2021
Going international
ViacomCBS will also bring Paramount+ to international markets with initial debuts in Latin America on March 4, 2021; the Nordics on March 25, 2021; and Australia in mid-2021. The CBS All Access service in Canada will be rebranded to Paramount+ on March 4, 2021, and an expanded offering will be available later in the year.
ICYMI: Promo video
In case you missed it, here is the promotional video for Paramount+ released last fall when the branding was first announced.
Keep up with the Star Trek Universe on TV here at TrekMovie.com.
“The Stand” is already using the “Paramount+” logo at the end of the end credits.
Will Picard remain on Prime Video and Discovery on Netflix in Latin America?
I should think so, until the rights lapse in a few years.
Cool.
Hopefully, we’ll get more of the ‘Trek movies with it, preferably in constant or at least predictable rotation. Fingers crossed!
They should eventually have them all on P+.
ViacomCBS new stated policy is that none of their content will go exclusively to other streamers.
Even when they make new TV series or offer new movies to Netflix or Amazon, they will retain the rights to show them globally on P+. So as existing exclusive licenses run out, they won’t be renewed on an exclusive basis.
Yeah, they really should be pushing for ALL the Trek films to be part of the service and just all be there. It will feel more complete like how pretty much all the Marvel and Star Wars shows/films are on Disney+ and DC is becoming the same on HBO Max.
They should also just make a Star Trek hub for all things Star Trek combining the shows, movies, documentaries, etc all in one place, again, just like Disney has with Marvel and Star Wars. It’s odd how they have a dedicated link for the Star Trek shows but the films that are there are not included.
Or, you could just buy the BD and you can have them whenever you want and not worry about what service happens to have the rights to stream them.
Wrath of Khan is the only one that has been restored from its original negative. They never bothered restoring Star Trek 1, or star treks 3-6. And Khan exists in 4K but no disc has been released. But the JJverse trilogy is on 4K UHD disc. Paramount apparently won’t spend a dime restoring the Shatner features outside of Khan. CBS won’t remaster DS9 or VOY tv series in 2k. And Paramount won’t spend any more money on any new feature films. Its like they think Star Trek is a money loser, not worth the investment.
I don’t like the name. They could have come up with something better.
Maybe like… The Mountain! ;-)
Spielberg wanted them to call Paramount Classics/Paramount Vantage, “The Hill.” I always liked that.
Dunno if the Girondists would approve.
Easy, Jean-Luc.
Speaking as somebody from the UK Paramount is a very recognisable brand over here and I imagine that’s the case in a lot of the territories that ViacomCBS wish to expand to. So yeah it’s a pretty unimaginative name but given their apparent ambitions to add to the markets in which they offer their service I think it makes a lot of sense.
I’m surprised Disney doesn’t sue them. It is awfully similar.
I’d be extremely surprised if Disney has successfully trademarked ‘+’
I’d be even more surprised if they hadn’t thought about it though
Lol agreed
“Plus” is too generic. Back in the ’70s there was a pay-cable movie service called Cinema+
Twin Peaks?
I like it, it’s simple enough and I think they have a solid logo
You probably really want something that has your name in it. That’s why I really hate the name “Peacock” for Universal (what do Universal movies have to do with the NBC peacock anyway?). I think the name was always going to have some variation of Paramount or CBS in it. The “Plus” is getting a tad overused now (even more with Discovery+) but I can’t think of anything better offhand. Paramount Peak Entertainment? Paramount Platform? No.
Like Paramount Extreme.
I would think this is good news. It should bode well for more feature films, no?
Nah, this is just distribution news. I’m still of the mindset that anything feature film length will likely go straight to the streaming service.
TV shows, more than films, I think.
I only mentioned films as it seems to ring a bell that, a few months back, there was a reshuffling of the top brass at Paramount, and the new head honchos said they wanted to expand on the Star Trek feature film part of it.
For sure, but I can’t imagine they wouldn’t go the traditional route and release them theatrically, then sell the cable rights and then the streaming rights to a rival or Paramount+.
Gracie Films (production company responsible for “The Simpsons”) hasn’t changed its logo since the 1980s. I think I see a rule here: successful companies have better things to do than change their names/logos/brands/whatever, while companies in trouble change theirs as fast as they can hoping that this will somehow solve their problems. :-)
On the other hand, Paramount has been around for over 100 years and has altered its logo and name many times. [shrug]
This rebranding isn’t primarily about the American market primarily.
CBS is well known in North America as a trusted brand, but means nothing to those outside North America.
To survive, this streamer needs to make it globally, and Paramount is the name they have that has recognition in other countries. So, they have to lead with Paramount (even if I find the + name derivative).
Also, by happenstance, Pluto – ViacomCBS’ free over-the-internet ad-supported video service – also starts with a P, so there is a natural progression from Pluto to P+.
The American rebranding is the slogan “Live sports, news and a mountain of entertainment”.
I guess they tested with Americans, but it sounds like cheesy National Amusements hucksterism to me.
Well hopefully this will get more people to check out the service. I still don’t know a single soul who has All Access, but at least someone who has all the bigger ones like Netflix, Disney+, Prime and now Max. For the record I have all of them, but if I had to get rid of one it would be AA considering I ONLY watch Star Trek on it and literally nothing more.
It still feels like a service for basically CBS watchers and devoted Trek fans and very little else. It’s nice to see the movie section finally getting more films and mainstream hits. I just notice all the Indiana Jones films are now there. That’s the kind of stuff they need to attract a wider audience. What’s been there for the last few years just doesn’t cut it with most, certainly with younger people.
I too, don’t know anyone who has AA, Tiger. I do subscribe to all the above you listed, and they’re all well worth the price, imo. AA, no thanks. The old content is simply not worth it, and the new isn’t at all impressive, to me. I am mildly looking forward to seeing Lower Decks at some point, but no hurry.
I have subscribed to Disney. Twice. One month each year now. My month just ended. Saw a few things but even they don’t have anything worth paying continuously for. Why do that when I can just pay for something once, catch up, and cancel?
I have seriously been considering HBO Max for a month only because Warner has decided to release films there (sadly theaters here are not open yet). But at $15 I don’t think it worth it. I’ll just wait for the discs to come out instead.
I’m one of the few people that had AA since Discovery premiered. Only because I keep telling myself I might rewatch one of the new Trek shows, but rarely do lol . And now I’m actually rewatching the entire franchise in chronological order. First time I have ever attempted this and of course all the new shows are only there for a rewatch. And oddly The Animated Series (which I’m also including) only seems to be there now as well. I thought it was on the other sites like Netflix and Prime like the other shows but apparently not.
So yeah looks like I will be keeping it for that (assuming I rewatch them) but sadly there is just no reason to keep AA outside of Star Trek for me. Even the other stuff I thought I would watch like Twilight Zone or The Stand but they all gotten really mixed reviews so haven’t bothered yet.
But yeah, AA is the most useless site out of all the others I have. It’s not to say there is nothing to watch on it, there is, just not enough for what they charge for it and compared to the major competition out there. And why it failed IMO. Hopefully with P+, they REALLY beef up their movie content and that new first run movies show up there after leaving theaters like so many of the others.
I still say give Lower Decks a chance. You may be as disappointed in it as Discovery and Picard, but I had a lot of fun with it personally and can’t wait to rewatch the season when I get there in probably August or September. ;)
Yeah, they need more exclusives, that’s the name of the game. Live TV and sports are not a bad thing, especially if they hang onto the NFL, but they’ve got to either pull back on some more legacy content that would have fetched a good price for a rival (like South Park did), absorb a competitor like Lionsgate, MGM, Sony Pictures, Starz or Discovery Inc., or start spending on par with their rivals. The latter two options are very pricey and risky for a middle-weight media conglomerate to do.
And don’t forget that not long ago CBS was courting Verizon as a buyer, so there’s always the off chance ViacomCBS gets used one day by a telecom or Big Tech company the way Comcast and AT&T use NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia, respectively. I hope not, I don’t care for all this rampant consolidation.
I have Netflix, Disney+, and Prime. After dabbling with HBO Max and CBSAA, I dropped those two and just kept the first three. I am a lifelong Star Trek fan, but these new shows are not enough for me to keep CBSAA/Paramount+ on a monthly basis. If I have some free time, I might get for a month then binge the new shows then drop it.
I’ve had AA since Sept ’17 and I watch nothing on it 😂 I’ve seen 18 episodes of Disco, 10 of Picard, 3 of LDS and that’s it…dunno if it was worth $250
LOL I’m basically in the same boat as you. I also been paying for the service since Sept of 2017 (but only paid for the $5.99 option until just a few months ago. It was the ONLY way I can justify still paying for it once the seasons were over) and like you I basically been paying to watch the new Trek stuff. I’ve seen a few reruns of other things here and there but very little. I have not, ever, watched a single new AA show although there has been about a dozen of them now. None get great reviews outside of The Good Fight which another poster here suggest I should watch, but haven’t done it yet.
And yes I STILL have it lol. But I am doing a major rewatch of the franchise, from the 22nd century to the 32nd (I knew we wouldn’t see any new Star Trek until probably the end of the year in 2021 the earliest, so something to keep me busy) so I need it for that. I don’t know if I will actually do it but so far so good at least.
I thought when Disney bought Lucasfilm it included Indiana Jones. Although I did also read somewhere that Disney does not have the rights to the original SW trilogy and won’t for a while.
And I also don’t know anyone who subscribes to the service. Further, I found no one who knew it even existed until I told them it did. They have a serious marketing problem. Compare that to the marketing for HBO Max. That was advertised nearly everywhere months before it even started. I recall not knowing what the hell it even was!
That REALLY confused me as well ML31. I never understood why no one talked about Indiana Jones going to Disney+ since they now owned Lucasfilm and practically every frame of Stars Wars that ever existed ended up on that site. But THEN I finally found out it was because Indiana Jones was always owned directly by Paramount and why they are all on AA now.
BUT, the fifth new movie that is suppose to come out sometimes before Harrison Ford hits 90 will actually be owned by Disney so that movie will go to Disney+ eventually. It will be odd though all the other films will be on another site, but yeah. And of course you can just buy them all as a set in time.
And I think Disney does in fact own the rights to the original SW trilogy now since that was owned by 20th Century Fox which they obviously bought out. I’m guessing to get stuff like the OT and the other Marvel rights like X-Men and Fantastic Four was one of the reasons why they did it. They did all of that before Disney+ was released so they have a lot of these properties on that site and Hulu.
As for Max, I wasn’t really that familiar with it until a few months before it started. I heard about it, but I didn’t know much of what was going to be on it. And to be MORE honest with you, I really only got it because we already had HBO Go, so it just transferred over to Max and now we have all the stuff we did before, plus thousands of hours of WB and others for the same price as before. So for all the HBO lovers who already had that service this was a win-win.
Star Wars was never owned by 20th Century Fox. Lucasfilms always owned it. Fox was only a distributor. But I was indeed under the impression that the original trilogy was not included in the Disney deal with Lucasfilm. But it wasn’t forever. Eventually that too would find its way to Disney. I was under the impression it may have had something to do with the distribution deals Lucas made with Fox. Of that Fox financed the first film. Lucas paid and made the two sequels on his own dime. But retained Fox as a distributor. I haven’t checked. Are episodes 4-6 availabe lon Disney+?
Well I guess but yes all the Star Wars films, especially the OT, were on Disney+ on day one.
The original Star Wars trilogy will be continued to be suppressed. It will never be available officially, not on Digital, not on streaming, blu ray or 4K. Disney owns the rights so they can sit in a vault somewhere. 1977 Star Wars is not available, 1980 Empire Strikes Back unavailable, and 1983 Return of the Jedi unavailable. Disney is losing money to piracy on every download of the original versions or bootleg blu ray sold on auction sites. Lucasfilm knows the demand is there. It hasn’t happened because George Lucas does not want it to happen.
If you are talking about the original cuts, that’s not entirely true. I have the DVD of the original cuts. They aren’t remastered or anything like that. But they are there. But if you are saying the Disney deal does NOT include the original cut (I’ve heard fans asking Disney to release the original cuts) I think I can buy that. Lucas hasn’t wanted the original cuts to ever be available as he re-rerelease is the version he likes and wants.
UPN is still a better name…
Well, it won’t be a network, so no, it really wouldn’t be. Calling it Paramount+ immediately communicates what it is, since Disney and Apple already established it as a convention.
Never mind streaming where are the 4K discs for Star Trek 1-6. At least release Wrath of Khan, Nicholas Meyer supervised the restoration years ago. There is a perfect version in 4K UHD and HDR all ready to go. Maybe physical releases are dead?
Canceling my AA account as soon as “The Stand” finishes, but I’ll sign up for this at some point. Probably won’t be until they have something new that I want to see, though.
I saw the first couple of episodes of The Stand. Not enough to keep me paying. Will finish it up when I re-up for whenever the next Trek show starts.
You’re not missing anything; it’s pretty mediocre. I read and watch everything King-related, though, so I’m in no matter what. Sometimes it’s with gritted teeth, and this is turning into one of those occasions.
That’s what I’m thinking. I haven’t been impressed with the first episodes.
I wish they would supply all episodes of all series. Many, non Star Trek, series are limited or have a hodge podge of episodes per season.
There’s a much better name for that service, and it’s totally obvious.
And just to be even-handed, “Peacock” is a pretty bad name. It’s a funny sounding word, to begin with. And, even though it’s related to “NBC” by way of being a corporate mascot, when you think of NBC you probably don’t think of the word “peacock,” nor of the corporate mascot peacock, nor of an actual peacock. With regard to the NBC TV network, I’d bet very few people ever said or thought, “Think I’ll check out what’s on the peacock.” At least, not seriously.
Changing the name will not make their service any more desirable. What do they have aside from Trek? Old TV shows? Movies I didn’t want to watch when they came out to begin with?