Paramount+ Was a Mistake for ViacomCBS

Once Disney showed they can succeed as a competitor to Netflix, all the major media behemoths jumped towards the same ship. Every media conglomerate started to come out with their streaming platform. ViacomCBS was not meant to do this and the execution has gone as poorly as possible.

ViacomCBS looks like the first to fall victim to the classic example of just because something works for one company, it doesn’t mean it’ll work for yours. After unveiling their own service, Paramount+, ViacomCBS didn’t wait long to announce that they’d be selling shares of their stock to help fund it. As companies like Netflix and Disney successfully used the proceeds from subscription to fund their platforms, this worried many analysts as it showed ViacomCBS does not have the confidence moving forward in both Paramount+ and the company as a whole.

There are many issues with Paramount+ and ViacomCBS. For starters, it doesn’t help that they underwent a massive name change from CBS All Access to Paramount+. This has led to a major confusion for many consumers as no one knows what exclusive content is on the platform and, more importantly, why they should add this to their menu of streaming options. The other concern is the branding behind the name Paramount. Who cares about the name Paramount? It’s no longer considered a major brand name in film and certainly doesn’t capture the eyes of anyone. There are two routes they could have gone. The Disney or WarnerMedia route of picking the most popular name like Nickelodeon or CBS to house all their content. Disney did this with Disney+ and WarnerMedia did this with HBO Max. The other route is the Comcast one of “Peacock”, a term that’s synonymous with NBC. Both platforms have names that resonate with the media company that they represent while housing the wide selection of content under its umbrella.

It doesn’t help that Paramount+ came late to the game compared to its rivals. It really doesn’t help that they stumbled into this with one of the worst branding ideas ever. Not all companies should follow its rivals. What ViacomCBS should have done is hold their illustrious content for ransom and have their rivals pay up the nose for it. What is Bob Bakish getting paid for?