CBS Corporation and Viacom announced plans to merge again, aiming to build more scale for a market shifting quickly toward streaming. The deal would combine CBS’s broadcast and premium assets (like Showtime) with Viacom’s cable brands and Paramount Pictures, creating a larger content library for direct-to-consumer video.
The merger closed after market hours, and the combined company took the name ViacomCBS Inc. The recombination set the corporate foundation for a unified streaming push by bringing major TV networks and a Hollywood studio under one parent company.
ViacomCBS agreed to sell CNET Media Group to Red Ventures for $500 million. The divestiture was part of a broader effort to simplify the company and redirect resources toward streaming and debt reduction.
ViacomCBS announced that CBS All Access would be renamed Paramount+ in early 2021. The new name signaled a shift from a CBS-focused service to a broader platform built around Paramount and content from across the combined company.
ViacomCBS announced an agreement to sell book publisher Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House for about $2.18 billion. The company said proceeds would support priorities that included its streaming business, reflecting a clearer focus on video and direct-to-consumer growth.
ViacomCBS confirmed that Paramount+ would launch in the U.S. on March 4, 2021, replacing CBS All Access. The announcement also outlined an international rollout schedule, tying the rebrand to expansion beyond the U.S. market.
At a major streaming-focused presentation, ViacomCBS detailed how Paramount+ would combine entertainment with live sports and news. The event positioned the service as a central business priority and previewed a slate meant to drive subscriptions in a crowded streaming market.
Paramount+ officially launched, completing the shift from CBS All Access to a broader, studio-centered brand. This launch marked a practical turning point: streaming moved from a side product to a core consumer destination meant to carry the company’s franchises and library.
ViacomCBS and Comcast announced SkyShowtime, a joint venture streaming service planned to launch in more than 20 European markets starting in 2022. The partnership showed a strategy of sharing costs and combining libraries to scale internationally where running multiple separate services might be harder.
ViacomCBS launched a discounted bundle pairing Paramount+ with Showtime, offered at two price tiers. The bundle was a direct tactic to reduce subscriber churn (people canceling) and to raise the value of Paramount+ by linking it to a premium brand.
In its Q4 and full-year 2021 results, the company reported that global streaming subscribers had risen to more than 56 million, with record additions in the quarter. The results highlighted Paramount+ as a main driver of growth and reinforced the business case for focusing the corporate identity around streaming.
The company changed its name from ViacomCBS Inc. to Paramount Global, aligning the corporate brand with Paramount+, Paramount Pictures, and a streaming-centered strategy. The rename signaled a simplified identity intended to unify many TV and film assets under one flagship brand for investors, partners, and consumers.
Paramount Global rebrand and streaming pivot (2018–2022)