CBS All Access Is Now Paramount Plus, but What Does That Mean for Subscribers?

When it launched, CBS All Access was one of the first streaming services to come from a broadcast network. In the years since, it has existed on the fringe of the streaming wars but maintained a loyal following thanks to its slate of original and exclusive programming. Now, CBS All Access is transforming into Paramount Plus, a more full-fledged streaming service with expanded offerings. 

Users who are already subscribed to CBS All Access shouldn't experience any change in their service. Paramount Plus launched on March 4, and users who are subscribed to CBS All Access should be able to log in to Paramount Plus with their current credentials. This is true regardless of what price tier you are currently subscribed to on CBS All Access. 

If you subscribed to CBS All Access at $5.99 a month, you will have Paramount Plus with ads. If you subscribed at $9.99 per month, you will have access to Paramount Plus with no ads. 

Paramount Plus should have all of the offerings that were available on CBS All Access, plus additional things like live TV, a broader selection of movies, and an expanded catalog of TV shows. 

With the introduction of Paramount Plus, CBS All Access will cease to exist. In reality, though, CBS All Access is transforming and expanding into Paramount Plus. Anything that subscribers watched on CBS All Access will also be available on Paramount Plus. Although the name and app may be changing, CBS All Access users shouldn't feel like the service is disappearing. 

Users who sign up for Paramount Plus during the month of March will get a month-long free trial on the platform. After March, the trial period will shorten to a single week. After the free trial, the service will cost $10 per month for its ad-free service, or $6 per month for the ad-supported version. In June, the service will introduce a $5 per month base price that is ad-supported but doesn't feature access to your local CBS channel stream.

Paramount Plus is set to have more than 30,000 episodes of TV when it debuts, as well as more than 2,500 movies. The streamer will also debut 36 original series this year, including a revival of Frasier, a CG reboot of the animated series Rugrats, and there's a new studio devoted to developing more animated content inside the universe of Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

The service will also serve as the streamer for all of Paramount's theatrical movie releases after they play in theaters for 45 days. In the immediate future, that means that movies like A Quiet Place: Part II, Mission Impossible 7, and others will hit the service in the coming months. 

Paramount Plus is the latest service in a long line of new streaming services. Whether it will ultimately be able to compete with the many other titles that have launched in recent years remains to be seen.