ViacomCBS to take new name, Paramount Global
At the investor event, the company unveiled its global content for Paramount+ and its expansion plans
ViacomCBS today announced that the global media company will become Paramount Global (referred to as "Paramount"), effective February 16, bringing together its leading portfolio of premium entertainment properties under a new parent company name.
"Paramount is an idea: A promise to be the best," said Shari Redstone, Non-Executive Chair of the company's Board of Directors. "That promise has always been at the center of what we aspired to build as the steward of more than a century of cinematic excellence, and with businesses and brands that have defined and redefined entertainment for generation after generation. We have made enormous progress, and I have never been more excited about the future of this company."
"Paramount's iconic peak represents a rich history for our company as pioneers in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Today, as we embrace the Paramount name, we are pioneers of an exciting new future," said Bob Bakish, President and Chief Executive Officer.
The company's shares will trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange as PARAA (Class A common), PARA (Class B common) and PARAP (Preferred Stock), beginning with trading on February 17, 2022, at 9:30 a.m. ET.
In addition to the name change, the company detailed plans to accelerate the global momentum behind Paramount+, unveiling new content, enhanced product offerings and continued international expansion at its investor event.
"We see a huge global opportunity in streaming, a much larger potential market than can be captured by linear TV and film alone," continued Bakish. "We're excited about our ability to not just compete, but thrive, creating significant value for both consumers and shareholders. How? Because we're broader in four key areas: our diverse content, streaming model, mix of platforms and global reach. As we look forward, the size of the opportunity we see is matched only by our ambition to seize it."
“Paramount+ will continue to deliver the most diverse content offering in streaming across every genre at scale, including beloved franchise extensions and all-new buzzworthy originals spanning must-see movies, scripted dramas, unscripted reality TV, comedy, kids and family, sports, news, specials and events to super-serve the entire household.
"On Paramount+, we have something for everyone," said Tanya Giles, Chief Programming Officer, Streaming. "We are taking our broad content offering and deepening it with more content in key categories, building on our treasure trove of IP to create lasting, hit franchises."
Sharing its global expansion plan, the company said “ViacomCBS will continue the global expansion of Paramount+ in 2022. The company announced today that Paramount+ will make its debut in France as an exclusive bundle with CANAL+ Group, giving subscribers immediate access to Paramount+ through the country's largest provider. Paramount+ will also be available on an a la carte and direct-to-consumer basis in the French market.
"We're continuing to leverage our global footprint and long-standing relationships to expand Paramount+ into new markets with enormous potential quickly and economically," said Tom Ryan, President and CEO, Streaming.
With Paramount+ and SkyShowtime, the company will have streaming services available in more than 60 markets across the UK, Latin America, Canada, Australia, South Korea, the Caribbean and all major markets in Europe by the end of this year. In 2023, the company will look to Asia, Africa and the Middle East, building on Paramount+'s strong momentum to grow its presence in every region of the world.
The company further said Paramount+ subscribers will soon be able to enjoy SHOWTIME in a new integrated offering that pairs together both services in an unrivaled streaming collection of live and on-demand entertainment with critically acclaimed and boundary-pushing programming in a single user experience.
The company said Paramount+ has exceeded the company's goals since its launch, and ahead of schedule, as the key driver of ViacomCBS' overall streaming growth. The company delivered more than 56 million total global streaming subscribers and 84% revenue growth in the direct-to-consumer segment in 2021.
As a result of its streaming momentum and incremental investments, the company is raising its global streaming subscriber goal from 65-75 million global streaming subscribers to more than 100 million subscribers by year-end 2024. The company is also raising its 2024 DTC revenue goal from $6 billion to $9 billion.
"In just one year, Paramount+ has outperformed all expectations," said Naveen Chopra, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. "Our powerful content, marketing and distribution engines drove explosive growth as further proof of our ability to establish a sustainable, large scale streaming business with a differentiated global playbook."
