Sources: ViacomCBS is building a new ad-supported streaming service that will build on CBS All Access, and an ad-free version that includes Showtime
- ViacomCBS is preparing to throw its hat into the streaming wars after consummating a merger on Dec. 31.
CNBCAlex Sherman
Context & Ripple Effects
The December 31 merger handed ViacomCBS the pieces it had been assembling separately: Viacom spent 2018 pulling its content out of Hulu and Netflix to fuel its own service (withdrawing shows from rivals ahead of a planned launch) and weighed buying ad-supported streamer Tubi TV for around $300M (in acquisition talks last year). Now, weeks after closing, it is structuring the combined company's streaming around two tiers built on CBS All Access.
The split matters because it assigns each asset a lane: CBS All Access anchors the mass-market ad-supported product, while Showtime's premium brand moves inside the ad-free tier rather than standing alone. That is a direct answer to the scale problem — later reporting confirms paid subs across Showtime and CBS All Access reached 19.2M by Q4 while Pluto TV hit 43M MAUs.
First-order effects
CBS All Access subscribers become the seed audience for the new ad-supported service, while Showtime shifts from standalone premium channel to bundled component of the ad-free tier.
Pluto TV's existing ad-supported footprint gives ViacomCBS immediate ad inventory and sales infrastructure that most launch-day streamers lack.
Second-order effects
Rivals without an ad-supported free tier face pressure to add one, since ViacomCBS can monetize non-paying viewers Pluto-style while charging $5–$10 for the paid tiers it later confirmed.
Showtime's standalone subscription business risks cannibalization as its content migrates into the bundle — the classic trade-off of folding a premium brand into a parent service.
Third-order effects
If the two-tier structure holds through the Paramount+ rebrand and international rollout, media consolidation is converging on a standard shape: merged scale, an ad-funded funnel, and a premium ad-free tier on top.
Premium cable brands like Showtime increasingly lose independent distribution identity, absorbed as content layers inside parent-company platforms rather than sold as separate services.
The trend: Post-merger media companies are standardizing on dual-tier streaming — ad-supported mass market plus premium ad-free bundles — turning once-independent premium channels into components of consolidated platforms.
Scoop: ViacomCBS is planning a new streaming service that will build on CBS All Access and include the Viacom suite of assets such as Paramount movies, PlutoTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, etc. - A premium version will include Showtime. Details here: https://www.cnbc.com/...
With fewer than 5 million subs after almost 5 years, CBS All Access has been a failure as an SVOD service. ViacomCBS [presumably]: “We're going to pile everything else we've got on top of it.” https://twitter.com/...
ViscomCBS continues to insist it will still seek out appropriate third party licensing deals but a consolidated streamer flys in the face of that idea. If I'm Sony, I say fuck verticalization and become THE premium licenser among major studios. Short term revenue spike. https://t…
I heard you liked streaming services. So I put a streaming service inside your streaming service inside another streaming service. https://twitter.com/...
ViacomCBS is preparing to launch a streaming service that combines CBS All Access, Showtime and content from Paramount Pictures, MTV, BET and Comedy Central A name has not been chosen but ad-supported and premium versions are planned (via @CNBC | https://www.cnbc.com/...) https:/…
What if - and hear me out - they made it possible to watch all these streaming services on a large box in your living room, and you could flip between them using some sort of “remote control” https://twitter.com/...