ViacomCBS exec DeBevoise gives more details on the upcoming rebranded CBS All Access, aiming for Q1 2021

Star Trek: Lower Decks on CBS All Access

While the Star Trek fandom is no doubt going nuts over Star Trek: Lower Decks as we speak, CBS All Access is still carrying on with its plans to modernize and evolve its streaming service.

Earlier this year, ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish announced plans to “expand and rebrand” the CBS All Access streaming video-on-demand service. Since then, they’ve had a minor facelift and added more than 3,000 episodes of TV, with more to come. Marc DeBevoise, Chief Digital Officer for ViacomCBS, spoke earlier this week to Decider, and gave more details about what the new service is likely to look like, when it eventually arrives in its final form sometime next year.

When asked about what the new app will look like, DeBevoise said that while the current service is “effectively an upgrade of the CBS app”, the new service - which will have a new name - will stand on its own, but users won’t have to download anything new. He said, “We’re going to rebrand the service, add 10,000 episodes and movies to it, and develop a slate of exclusive original content from the brands within the service. [...] What we want is that if you’re a subscriber, the app will turn into the new app.” DeBevoise also confirmed that the new service will have the same price and content catalog as CBS All Access.

Pointing specifically to Star Trek, DeBevoise didn’t let anything slip that we don’t already know, but he did confirm that the next 23 weeks of Star Trek content are important to CBS All Access. He did mention that the Lower Decks trailer is the most-viewed trailer they’ve ever had for an original series. And he also confirmed that they’re expecting Star Trek: Picard season two to land sometime in 2021.

As for the timing of the rebranded service, DeBevoise couldn’t commit to anything specific, but he did point to a spring launch, saying, “We don’t have a specific date yet for the relaunch and rebrand, but the first quarter of 2021 has a lot of opportunities between, hopefully, the NFL playoffs, the Super Bowl, the Grammy Awards and March Madness.”

And what about a new name? DeBevoise said, “We’re working on that now and will have more to say on that in the not-too-distant future.”