ViacomCBS Announces Expansion Of CBS All Access, New Tiered Streaming Structure With PlutoTV And Showtime

ViacomCBS announced Thursday plans to expand the CBS All Access streaming service into a “House of Brands” streaming service.

The announcement was made during the ViacomCBS Q4 earnings conference call as part of its plan to “accelerate momentum in streaming” for the company. CEO Bob Bakish said the company would expand CBS All Access by providing fresh content available from the Viacom brands onto the streaming platform as part of a new tiered system.

Before the merger, Viacom’s streaming services included BET+, Pluto TV and Showtime, along with a partnership with Netflix for content from Nickelodeon.

Bakish said the new tiered system will have three different offerings, one free and two paid.

Pluto TV will serve as the free, over-the-top TV service that provides live streaming channels from select providers. CBS All Access will serve as the introductory paid option and will expand its library during 2020 with content from various ViacomCBS owned brands, including Comedy Central and Paramount Network. Showtime will remain a separate service offering “premium” content and shows like “Homeland” and “Billions.”

Bakish continued, saying the tiered system will have a “soft launch” in 2020 and some existing content will be moved around to serve as incentives to sign up for the different services. One example given was that ViacomCBS would be airing an exclusive season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars” on Showtime.

He did not provide any information about the targeted launch window or pricing, but said it would be based on the “broad pay” structure CBS All Access uses to complement the new tiers.