ViacomCBS has unveiled more details about its planned global SVOD service which is launching in early 2021 and will include new shows like “Halo,” classic series box sets and a solid movie library.
The service will effectively combine first-run series and box sets from CBS All Access, Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, and a swath of the Paramount Pictures library – delivering movies, premium scripted series, kids, comedy and entertainment, reality and specialist factual content.
The ‘overall architecture of the service’ will prioritise exclusive first runs of Showtime and CBS All Access originals, then first-run Paramount Pictures films and classic movies, then ViacomCBS boxsets, and finally bespoke local content in individual markets “that can be either local originals, or third-party acquisitions”.
The new streamer, powered by the same tech used for CBS All Access, will first roll out in the U.S., Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden with more international markets to follow. In Australia, the existing 10 All Access service will be rebranded and significantly expanded for this.
Until now, CBS All Access and Showtime have sold their content to third-party global platforms and broadcasters ranging from Netflix to Amazon to Stan in lucrative output deals. The future of these pacts is now in question but it’s expected all new series from CBS All Access and Showtime will now go through these apps.
What it means for existing shows like “Star Trek: Picard” or “The Good Fight” is unclear. ViacomCBS however says it will “continue to license product selectively to third parties in international markets”. Both niche pre-school streamer Noggin and AVOD service Pluto TV will remain as distinct standalone platforms.
Confirmed classic show box-sets for the new service include: “The Good Wife,” “The Affair,” “Californication,” “Deadwood,” “Dexter,” “House of Lies,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Oz” and the original “Twin Peaks.” Viacom and CBS spend around $13 billion on content annually and boast a combined archive of 140,000 TV episodes and 40,000 films.
Source: Variety
