ViacomCBS announces leadership of new Streaming organization covering CBS All Access and Pluto TV

CBS All Access and Pluto TV are now under one organization, ViacomCBS Streaming

OCTOBER 23, 2020 - ViacomCBS has announced a new structure and new leadership around their streaming services going forward.

In a statement earlier this week, they announced that Tom Ryan, who is currently the CEO of their ad-supported video-on-demand service Pluto TV, would be stepping up to the new role of President and CEO of ViacomCBS Streaming. ViacomCBS Streaming will oversee the company’s two streaming services: the aforementioned Pluto TV, and their premium video-on-demand service CBS All Access, which will be rebranded as Paramount+ early next year. Marc DeBevoise, currently ViacomCBS’s Chief Digital Officer and President and CEO of ViacomCBS Digital, will be stepping down from his role, although he’ll remain in an advisory role through the end of the year.

Bringing CBS All Access and Pluto TV under a single division is, arguably, an obvious play, since it is in keeping with one of the original strategic pillars for the company that they laid out in last year’s merger announcement: “Accelerate direct-to-consumer strategy.” In this week’s statement, ViacomCBS said, “The integrated structure, which is effective immediately, will ensure a more holistic approach across both free and pay streaming, more closely align the company’s streaming objectives globally, and enhance ViacomCBS’s ability to leverage the cross-house franchise and content strength of ViacomCBS to seize the global opportunity in streaming.”

Coordinating content across both free and paid streaming is a theme in the ViacomCBS statement, and worth noting, if not reading into. As part of Ryan’s new role in ViacomCBS Streaming, they say he will “partner with the ViacomCBS Content Council to accelerate a franchise-driven content strategy across the company’s streaming ecosystem.”

Bob Bakish, President and CEO of ViacomCBS went further, saying, “ViacomCBS has a unique opportunity to combine the best of our brands in a seamless ecosystem of must-watch, direct-to-consumer services for audiences around the world. As we plan for the launch of Paramount+, bringing together the leaders of our streaming platforms to create a unified global organization will enable us to execute a holistic strategy across both free and pay. We will draw on the breadth and depth of ViacomCBS’s franchises and branded IP to deliver an extraordinary collection of diverse content with the convenience consumers want.”

Hypothetically speaking, applying that strategy to the Star Trek franchise could help alleviate the current fan complaints of paywalled content and inconsistent international distribution. Hypothetically speaking.

One final point to note: Marc DeBevoise, the outgoing Chief Digital Officer for ViacomCBS, is the only person who has been quoted saying that the price of Paramount+ will not change from the current CBS All Access prices. ViacomCBS themselves have not published what the pricing structure will be for the service when it rebrands; DeBevoise’s departure adds a degree of uncertainty to the details around the rebranding.

The structural changes for ViacomCBS Streaming take effect immediately, and we’ll await further details on how programming might evolve, as we head closer to the new year.