Paramount+ just might work because it's essentially re-creating the cable bundle

Vulture

The rebranding of CBS All Access into a major streaming service may seem hopeless, but ViacomCBS' head of streaming Tom Ryan thinks Paramount+ stands a chance because he thinks consumers are willing to pay for up to five streaming services. "In order to do that, the existing CBS-centric All Access offering is being supplemented with thousands of hours of library programming from the ViacomCBS basic-cable brands (MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, VH1) as well as the now-obligatory promise of dozens of new original series. The movie library will also be dramatically expanded with thousands of titles from the Paramount and MGM vaults, while big feature-film releases from Paramount will now stream on Paramount+ as early as one month after their theatrical debuts," says Josef Adalian, adding: "If this formula feels a bit familiar, well, that’s because it is: Paramount+, like Netflix or Peacock or Amazon Prime Video, is essentially looking to recreate the cable bundle that for decades funneled billions of dollars in revenue to conglomerates — and is now crumbling as millions of Americans flee into the arms of relatively cheaper streaming services. Consumers are cutting the cord because they don’t like huge cable bills and dealing with spotty customer service, and yet many do want the kind of soups-to-nuts programming mix you get with a cable subscription. And that’s why Ryan thinks Paramount+ can work: The breadth and depth of the ViacomCBS production factory, along with the company’s deep library, gives it the content necessary to create a must-stream TV app." Ryan says of Paramount+: “Aggregating a ton of great content into one service, and having that service be one of the go-to, daily services that people use, is our goal,” adding: "Broadcast TV, cable TV, YouTube, Netflix — (they offer) something for everyone. So I think if you want to be a major player in streaming TV/video, you need to be a broad-based product that can service a whole household and provide a range of great content in all, or almost all, key categories.”

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• Paramount+ is essentially the same as CBS All Access, offering too little bang for the buck: "Given what’s available on Netflix, Disney+/Hulu, Apple+, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max, Paramount+ hardly seems competitive, especially because some of their best properties are not even available — new seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race aren’t on the streamer, nor is the Paramount Network’s signature show, Yellowstone, which is available on … NBC/Universal’s Peacock," says Dustin Rowles. "Showtime, which is also part of the same corporation, is not under the Paramount+ umbrella, either, which might have made it a much bigger draw. For the most part, Paramount+ consists primarily of CBS programming, so if you’re into bland cop procedurals, it’s a must-have streamer (although, the infinitely better Law and Order franchise is on Peacock). Likewise, it’s the home of all the new Star Trek series, all the old Nickelodeon shows, and they’ve got the Indiana Jones movies and the first three Mission Impossible movies. It is not yet, however, a real player, although it may eventually will be."
• Paramount+ is clearly betting on capturing child viewers with Nickelodeon and SpongeBob content
• Paramount+'s big problem is that most Netflix subscribers don't want to pay for another streaming service
• Check out a guide to all of Paramount+'s offerings