CBS All Access changes to Paramount Plus in March

ViacomCBS’ Paramount Plus will launch March 4, the company announced Tuesday. If you’re already a subscriber to CBS All Access, don’t worry, this is just a name change, not a new thing to buy.

Plans for the rebranding/relaunching were announced in September. Paramount rejoined ViacomCBS at the end of 2019, following the re-merger of Viacom and CBS (those two companies had first split in 2006). This means, basically, that Paramount Pictures’ holdings will join a library that includes content from CBS and subsidiary networks BET, Comedy Central, MTV, and Nickelodeon.

All of the networks will be developing original series for Paramount Plus, the company reported back in September. Paramount Plus will be an all-in-one on-demand service that also offers subscribers local affiliates’ network programming and live sports, such as the NFL.

Paramount’s film library includes the Mission: Impossible series, the four Indiana Jones films, Shrek, The Transformers, and Jack Ryan (the Tom Clancy character’s film series, not the Amazon Prime TV series), in addition to Oscar-winning fare like The Godfather and its sequels. Other than Mission: Impossible — Fallout in 2018, the company has struggled to deliver hits over the past seven years.

CBS All Access currently offers two subscription tiers — an ad-supported version for $5.99 a month, and advertisement-free viewing for $9.99 a month. ViacomCBS did not announce any pricing changes with Tuesday’s news. The rebranding will take effect in Canada on March 4, as well, but the expanded content library will not join the service there until later in 2021.