After CEO Bob Bakish announcement of the service last year, Paramount Plus is finally set to be open for subscribing in only a few short months with a debut planned for March. The emergence of yet another streaming service comes after the merge between CBS and Viacom. Parting with the old, CBS All Access will be dismissed in favor of the new Paramount Plus, which will feature everything from Sports, TV shows, and Movies from popular brands such as MTV, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central.
This adds yet another streaming service to the ever-growing list of streaming platforms. With much of the film and television industry hurting due to Covid-19, streaming has been a largely welcomed alternative to continue engaging with audiences while theaters remain closed or unsafe. Yet the abundance of streaming services has introduced a new problem, with so many platforms to choose from, the average customer can’t subscribe to them all. Therefore, many services have introduced new features and content in hopes of keeping an edge in an already crowded marketplace. Recently, Netflix made a jaw-dropping announcement when it confirmed that it would be releasing a movie a week on its platform. With movies starring Zendaya to The Rock, it’s hard to ignore the impulse not to be subscribed to the platform. Yet to compete, HBO Max revealed that they would be releasing all of their 2021 films, both on the platform and in theaters. Then to top things off, Disney Plus has been drawing viewers in with their mysteriously wonderful WandaVision and plans to release more MCU and Star Wars-related content including Boba Fett, Loki, and Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Not to mention the steady grip of other streaming services such as Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV which all contain a collection of compelling shows and movies as well.
With so much content out there, it’s hard to wonder what it will be like once the pandemic is over and theaters are open again. Will streaming culture redefine the way we view our favorite movies? It’s hard to say. Certainly, the pandemic has had an extremely negative impact on theaters, one that we could potentially see the impact of post-pandemic. In the meantime, though, with so much content at our fingertips, it’s hard to know just what to subscribe to. While Paramount Plus’ launch is still a few months away, it is certainly heading into a more than crowded space of entertainment.
