Paramount+
From CBS All Access to (almost) everything of Paramount's.
Last updated November 2026
In brief
Paramount+ began as CBS All Access in 2014 — the first US network streamer — and was reborn in March 2021 with Paramount's full library: Star Trek, SpongeBob, Yellowstone's universe, live sport and Showtime. It has grown to roughly 80 million subscribers while its parent company became the industry's biggest takeover story.
Launched as CBS All Access
October 2014
Relaunched as Paramount+
4 March 2021
Showtime merged
2023 — rebranded 'Paramount+ with Showtime'
Subscribers
about 80 million (2025)
Live sport
Champions League (US), NFL on CBS, Serie A, Argentina's LPF
Parent
Paramount Skydance (merged 2025)
The story: how Paramount+ rose
CBS All Access (October 2014) was the first standalone OTT service from a US broadcast network — $5.99 with ads, built on Star Trek: Discovery's promise and CBS's back catalogue. When Viacom and CBS re-merged in 2019, the combined company had almost every asset a streamer needs: CBS's live sport and news, Paramount's films, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET and the Showtime premium brand.
The March 2021 relaunch as Paramount+ (the famous 'mountain of entertainment' Super Bowl ad) went global through 2021–22. The service's identity is a bundle of American staples — Star Trek as its originals spine, SpongeBob and Nickelodeon for families, Yellowstone's Taylor Sheridan universe (licensed, then absorbed), and the CBS live sport engine: NFL on CBS, the Champions League in the US, and Serie A. Showtime was merged into the app in 2023, and the 'with Showtime' tier carries its prestige slate.
The corporate story outgrew the product: National Amusements' control fight, the Skydance merger that closed in August 2025, and Paramount Skydance's subsequent pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery have made 'Paramount' the protagonist of the industry's endgame. Paramount+ itself has grown steadily to roughly 80 million subscribers — profitable in some quarters, still subscale versus the top three, and increasingly the subject of consolidation speculation.
Year-by-year milestones
- 2014 — CBS All Access launches — the first US network streamer.
- 2021 — Relaunched as Paramount+ with the full studio library; global rollout begins.
- 2022 — South Park and Yellowstone deals expand the catalogue; Champions League rights secured.
- 2023 — Showtime merged into Paramount+ ('with Showtime' tier).
- 2025 — Skydance merger closes; about 80 million subscribers; WBD acquisition pursuit begins.
Deep dives
Why Star Trek matters to a streamer
CBS All Access launched with one big promise: a new Star Trek series. Discovery's production problems delayed it, but the franchise became the spine of the service — five series and counting (Discovery, Picard, Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, Prodigy) — proving the oldest rule in television: a loyal franchise audience is worth more than a broad indifferent one. Paramount+ still runs on this logic; Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone universe is its second engine.
Where Paramount+ stands today
Paramount+ is the last of the 'second tier' global streamers still growing: roughly 80 million subscribers, a profitable-at-times niche built on franchises (Star Trek, Yellowstone, SpongeBob) and live sport, inside a parent company — Paramount Skydance — that is trying to buy Warner Bros. Discovery and consolidate the industry's middle. Its future is the clearest test of the 'merge to survive' thesis.