Paramount Plus in Australia: What we know so far

In the tail-end of 2019, the Viacom-CBS merger fused the power of Paramount Pictures and the TV talents of CBS, creating a single media powerhouse, ViacomCBS. It was just like when Disney acquired Fox  but nowhere near as exciting. With their powers combined, the Viacom and CBS partnership came to a climax when the company revealed its new streaming service, Paramount Plus, revealing a teaser for the service during this year’s Super Bowl.

Yes, there are already too many streaming services but thankfully, here in Australia, Paramount Plus will be replacing an existing streaming service, the woefully inept 10 All Access just like it replaced CBS All Access in the US. The plan is to combine the television shows from CBS with content from the various properties under the wider ViacomCBS banner, including but not limited to Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and MTV.

Here’s everything we know about Paramount Plus in Australia.

Confirmed: When does Paramount Plus launch in Australia?

• August 2021

In a recent interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, ViacomCBS confirmed that Paramount Plus will launch in August 2021 here in Australia. We don’t have an exact date yet but we should know more soon.

Confirmed: How much does Paramount Plus cost?

• $8.99 per month
• $1 cheaper than 10 All Access

During the same interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, ViacomCBS announced Paramount Plus would cost $8.99 per month in Australia. That’s a fraction cheaper than 10 All Access, Netflix, Stan and Disney Plus more expensive than Amazon Prime Video ($6.99 per month). In the US, Paramount Plus offers two plans: one cheaper plan with limited commercials (US$5.99) and one premium commercial-free tier (US$9.99). It’s not likely the same model will transfer to Australia but it hasn’t been confirmed.

There also wasn’t any information regarding a free trial period but 10 All Access and Paramount Plus in the US both offer 1-month free trials so that’s the most likely offer.

Partly confirmed: Paramount Plus TV shows

• New originals confirmed
• 10 All Access TV shows should transition over

We won’t know the full extent of the local Paramount Plus TV show library until closer to launch. We do, however, have a loose idea of the type of shows you can expect, and which original productions are heading to the service.

Firstly, every 10 All Access TV show that’s currently available should make the jump to 10 All Access, as will be the case with CBS All Access in America. So if you’re currently subscribed to 10 All Access, your NCISs, Frasiers, and Survivors should find a new home on Paramount Plus.

We also know that ViacomCBS has a few original productions planned to launch on Paramount Plus.

The headline original will be The Offer, a 10-part drama miniseries that details producer Al Ruddy’s experience creating what’s widely considered one of the best films of all time, The Godfather. Production is off to a scandalous start, however, after Armie Hammer (Call Me by Your Name) stepped down from the lead role of Ruddy, after a series of abuse allegations came to light in early 2021.

Next up is a revival of the 2006 sitcom The Game. An hour-long sequel series which picks up where the original left off back in 2015.

It might be too soon for a Criminal Minds revival (which just wrapped up in 2020), but Paramount Plus will be launching a true-crime docuseries based on the series’ success. Details on the series, and how it links to the original Criminal Minds, are slim at the moment. And fans of Yellowstone should keep their ears to the ground for Lioness, the upcoming spy series from Yellowstone’s creator. It follows a young CIA recruit on a mission to befriend the daughter of a terrorist group leader to take down the organisation from within. It sounds very CBS.

Lastly, Paramount Plus will bring together some of the most popular content from other ViacomCBS subsidiaries, like Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV. That includes more originals in the works, like Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years, an animated prequel series targeting younger audiences, and an MTV’s Behind the Music special series which ranks the top 40 artists of the last 40 years.

Here’s that list of Paramount Plus original TV shows:

• The Offer
• The Game
• The Real Criminal Minds
• Lioness
• MTV’s Behind the Music
• Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years

All of this in addition to the raft of original content that was announced earlier in the year, such as the Halo TV series, new Avatar: The Last Airbender originals, a Frasier reboot and more.

Partly confirmed: Paramount Plus movies

• First dibs on new Paramount Films movies
• Existing movie distribution deals will remain

In the same price and launch announcement, ViacomCBS also clarified some details around Paramount Pictures movies on the new service.

It appears that existing Paramount Pictures movies will remain fluid and not exclusive but Paramount Plus will be first served when it comes to new Paramount films, like the highly-anticipated horror sequel A Quiet Place 2. However, they won’t necessarily be exclusive to Paramount Plus. There also won’t be a mass exodus of Paramount Pictures movies from other streaming services (like we saw with Disney Plus). Movie franchises like Mission Impossible, Transformers and Shrek will continue to move between alternative streaming services too. Still, it’s more than likely that Paramount Plus will have those movies too.

Confirmed: A-League and W-League 

• All A-League and W-League football matches streamed live on Paramount Plus
• One A-League match per week on Channel 10 and one W-League match per week on 10Bold

Not too long after ViacomCBS teased that sports broadcasts weren’t out of the question, the company revealed an exclusive five-year partnership with the A-League and W-League that would see every match of both leagues streamed live on the paid Paramount Plus service. On free-to-air, there will be one A-League match every Saturday on Channel 10 and one W-League match every Sunday on 10Bold. Both weekly matches will then be syndicated to Network 10’s digital catch-up service, Network 10.

This move pits the upcoming Paramount Plus against other Australian sports streaming services, such as Stan Sport, Kayo Sport and Optus Sport.

Currently, it appears that sports content on Paramount Plus will be included with the standard subscription fee but there’s no telling whether that will change closer to kick-off.

What does this mean for 10 All Access subscribers?

• The Paramount Plus rebrand is confirmed
• Existing users will be shifted to the new Paramount Plus platform at launch
• Subscribers will be moved to Paramount Plus

We’ve known for a long time that 10 All Access would be rebranding to Paramount Plus. While the details of how what that process might look like (e.g. whether it will be delivered via a software update or a brand-new app) aren’t crystal clear. We do know, whatever the outcome, 10 All Access subscribers will pay less per month now that ViacomCBS has confirmed the $8.99 per month pricing.

Again, the details aren’t completely fleshed out but it’s worth noting that it doesn’t look like 10 All Access subscribers will lose anything in the transition. The plan seems to be to merge all existing content on 10 All Access with the additions that Paramount Plus bring with it.