Paramount Global owns Paramount Plus

Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS) owns and operates Paramount Plus. The company is a publicly traded media conglomerate based in New York that also owns CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, and the Paramount film studio. Paramount Plus launched in March 2019 as CBS All Access and was rebranded to Paramount Plus in March 2021 when the parent company reorganized its streaming strategy.

Paramount Global is controlled by a board of directors and shareholders, not by a single person or family. The company's leadership includes a Chief Executive Officer and executive team that make decisions about the streaming service's content, pricing, and direction. If you hold stock in Paramount Global, you own a small piece of the company that runs Paramount Plus.

Key Takeaways

  • Paramount Global, a major media company, owns Paramount Plus and also operates CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, and the Paramount film studio.
  • Paramount Plus started as CBS All Access in 2019 and was renamed in 2021 when the parent company shifted its streaming focus.
  • Paramount Global is a publicly traded company, meaning anyone can buy shares of stock and own a piece of it.
  • The streaming service is run by a CEO and executive team appointed by Paramount Global's board of directors.

How Paramount Global formed and reorganized

Paramount Global was created in 2019 when CBS Corporation and Viacom merged back together. The two companies had split in 2006 but reunited under the leadership of then-CEO Bob Bakish to compete more effectively against Netflix, Disney Plus, and other streaming rivals. The merger brought together CBS's broadcast network and streaming assets with Viacom's cable channels and production studios.

In 2021, the company changed its name from ViacomCBS to Paramount Global and rebranded its streaming service from CBS All Access to Paramount Plus. This shift reflected the company's decision to make streaming its primary focus rather than traditional cable and broadcast television. The rebrand also signaled that Paramount Plus would carry content from all of Paramount Global's properties—not just CBS shows.

What Paramount Global owns besides Paramount Plus

Paramount Global operates a portfolio of media brands and production capabilities. The company owns CBS, the broadcast television network; cable channels including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, and VH1; and Paramount Pictures, the major film studio. It also owns Showtime, a premium cable channel, and Pluto TV, a free ad-supported streaming service.

This ownership structure means Paramount Plus can draw content from multiple sources. Original series, films, and specials produced by Paramount Pictures or the cable networks often appear on Paramount Plus. CBS broadcasts are also made available on the streaming service, sometimes with a delay or sometimes live depending on your subscription tier.

How Paramount Plus is funded

Paramount Plus generates revenue through subscription fees and advertising. The service offers a basic tier with ads and a premium tier without ads, and pricing varies depending on whether you bundle it with other services or subscribe independently. Money from subscriptions goes to Paramount Global, which uses it to fund content production, technology infrastructure, and marketing.

Paramount Global also earns money from advertising sold on the ad-supported tier of Paramount Plus. This revenue model is common among streaming services and helps offset the cost of producing and licensing content. The company reports its streaming revenue separately from its traditional media revenue in financial statements, so investors and analysts can track how well the streaming business is performing.

Who makes decisions about Paramount Plus

A Chief Executive Officer and executive team at Paramount Global make high-level decisions about the company's direction, including Paramount Plus. The streaming service also has its own leadership team that reports to the broader company leadership. This team decides what shows and movies to produce, what content to license from other studios, pricing strategy, and which features to build into the app.

The board of directors, elected by shareholders, oversees the CEO and executive team. Shareholders are people and institutions that own stock in Paramount Global. If you own Paramount Global stock through a brokerage account or retirement fund, you are technically a part-owner of the company and can vote on board members at annual shareholder meetings, though individual shareholders typically have very small voting power.

Paramount Plus in the broader streaming market

Paramount Plus competes with Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, Max (formerly HBO Max), and other streaming services. Unlike Netflix, which is an independent company, or Disney Plus, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company, Paramount Plus is one piece of a larger traditional media company. This structure gives Paramount Global both advantages and challenges: it can draw on decades of content from its studios and networks, but it also must balance streaming growth against the declining revenue from cable and broadcast television.

Paramount Global has stated publicly that it intends to grow Paramount Plus into a major profit center. The company has invested billions in original content and technology to compete with larger streaming rivals. Whether Paramount Plus will eventually become the company's primary business or remain one of several revenue streams depends on how the broader media industry evolves over the next several years.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Paramount Plus owned by Paramount Pictures?

Paramount Plus is owned by Paramount Global, the parent company. Paramount Pictures is a film studio that Paramount Global owns. So Paramount Pictures is part of the same corporate family as Paramount Plus, but Paramount Pictures does not own the streaming service—they share the same owner.

Can I buy stock in Paramount Plus directly?

No, you cannot buy stock in Paramount Plus itself. You can only buy stock in Paramount Global, the parent company. When you buy Paramount Global stock, you own a small piece of the entire company, including Paramount Plus, CBS, the cable networks, and Paramount Pictures.

Who was the CEO when Paramount Plus launched?

Bob Bakish was the CEO of ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global) when Paramount Plus launched as CBS All Access in 2019. He led the company through the 2019 merger and the 2021 rebrand. Leadership at major companies can change, so you can find the current CEO on Paramount Global's investor relations website.

Does Paramount Global make money from Paramount Plus?

Yes, Paramount Global makes money from Paramount Plus through subscription fees and advertising revenue. However, the company has not yet reported that Paramount Plus is profitable overall. Like most streaming services, Paramount Plus has spent heavily on content and technology while building its subscriber base, which can result in losses in the short term.

Is Paramount Plus part of a larger company outside the United States?

Paramount Global is a U.S.-based company traded on American stock exchanges. It does operate internationally and has partnerships with other companies in different countries to distribute its content, but Paramount Global itself is not owned by a foreign parent company.