Paramount Streaming
Paramount Streaming (formerly CBS Digital Media Group, CBS Interactive, and ViacomCBS Streaming) is a division of Paramount Global that oversees the company's video streaming technology and offers direct-to-consumer services, free, premium and pay. These include Pluto TV, which has more than 250 live and original channels, and Paramount+, a subscription service that combines breaking news, live sports, and premium entertainment.
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Type | Division |
| Industry |
|
| Founded | February 6, 1997 |
Key people | Tom Ryan (President) |
| Brands | |
| Parent | CBS Corporation (1997–2000; 2005–2019) Viacom (2000–2005) Paramount Global (2019–present) |
| Website | paramount.com/streaming |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
History
As CBS Interactive
On May 30, 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for £140 million (US$280 million).[2]
On June 30, 2008, CNET Networks was acquired by CBS and the assets were merged into CBS Interactive, including Metacritic, GameSpot, TV.com, and Movietome.[3]
On March 15, 2012, it was announced that CBS Interactive acquired video game-based website Giant Bomb and comic book-based website Comic Vine from Whiskey Media, who sold off their other remaining websites to BermanBraun. This occasion marked the return of video game journalist Jeff Gerstmann to the CBS Interactive division of video game websites, which includes GameSpot and GameFAQs, and has Gerstmann once again working directly with some of his former peers at GameSpot within the same building at the CBS Interactive headquarters.[4][5]
On April 17, 2012, it was announced that Major League Gaming and CBS Interactive would be entering a partnership alongside Twitch to be the only exclusive online broadcaster of their Pro Circuit competitions, as well as for advertising representation.[6][7]
CBS Corp./Viacom re-merger and afterwards
On November 4, 2019, Variety reported that Jim Lanzone would be leaving the company after 9 years to become an executive in residence at Benchmark Capital and would be succeeded by Marc DeBevoise.[8]
CBS Interactive's parent CBS Corporation merged with sister company Viacom on December 4, 2019, forming ViacomCBS.
On September 14, 2020, it was announced that Red Ventures would acquire the “CNET Media Group” from ViacomCBS for $500 million, which was finalized on October 30, 2020.[9][10][11]
After the divestment of the “CNET Media Group”, CBS Interactive was dissolved after an organizational restructuring and renamed ViacomCBS Streaming in order to accelerate ViacomCBS 'direct-to-consumer streaming strategies.[1]
On March 4, 2021, ViacomCBS Streaming renamed CBS All Access to Paramount+, with additional streaming content and rebranding taking place at that time.[12]
In late 2021, Comcast and ViacomCBS announced a partnership to launch a new streaming service in more than 20 European territories. SkyShowtime would replace already existing Paramount+ in the Nordics while launching a fully new service in Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.
Streaming was renamed as "Paramount Streaming", in-line with the rebranding of parent company ViacomCBS to Paramount Global in February 2022.[13]
Properties
Some of the digital media properties under Paramount Streaming are
- Paramount+
- Showtime
- Pluto TV
- BET+
- Noggin
- CBS News (streaming service)
- Mixible
- SkyShowtime (50%, joint-venture streaming service owned and operated by Comcast (through Sky Group) and Paramount Global (through Showtime Networks)
Divested/defunct
When the company was known as CBS Interactive, it owned several websites, most of which were sold to Red Ventures in 2020. Its former websites are: Radio.com, BNET, CNET, Download.com, TechRepublic, ZDNet, GameFAQs, GameSpot, Giant Bomb, onGamers, TVGuide.com, Chowhound, TV.com, Metacritic, Comic Vine, GameRankings, MetroLyrics and UrbanBaby.[9]
References
- ^ a b Spangler, Todd (October 20, 2020). "ViacomCBS Streaming Shake-Up: Pluto TV's Tom Ryan to Head New Global Division, Marc DeBevoise Steps Down". Variety. from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "Music site Last.fm bought by CBS". BBC News. May 30, 2007. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
- ^ . CBS Corporation. June 30, 2008. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved June 30, 2008.
- ^ Giant Bomb, Comic Vine join CBS Interactive GameSpot.com
- ^ Kara Swisher. "BermanBraun Buys Most of Shelby Bonnie's Whiskey Media". AllThingsD. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
- ^ . Major League Gaming. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
- ^ Alex Wilhelm (April 17, 2012). "CBS Takes Esports Big with Twitch.tv and MLG". The Next Web. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
- ^ Littleton, Cynthia (November 4, 2019). "Marc DeBevoise Named CEO of CBS Interactive as Jim Lanzone Joins Benchmark Capital". Variety. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
- ^ a b Lunden, Ingrid (September 14, 2020). "Red Ventures acquires CNET Media Group from ViacomCBS for $500M". TechCrunch. from the original on February 28, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
- ^ Spangler, Todd (September 14, 2020). "ViacomCBS Reaches Deal to Sell CNET for $500 Million to Marketing Firm Red Ventures". Variety. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- ^ "Red Ventures Announces Closing of Acquisition of CNET Media Group". PR Newswire. October 30, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
- ^ Casey, Henry T. (March 5, 2021). "Paramount Plus price, apps, free trial, shows, movies and what you need to know". Tom's Guide. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
- ^ "VIACOMCBS UNVEILS NEW COMPANY NAME, GLOBAL CONTENT SLATE AND INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION PLANS FOR PARAMOUNT+ AT INVESTOR EVENT". Paramount Global. February 15, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.