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    CBS streaming service to grow with Viacom, Paramount videos

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1475 Views
    In this Jan. 12, 2020, file photo Chief Digital Officer, ViacomCBS, and CEO and President, CBS Interactive, Marc DeBoise speaks at the Executive Presentation during the CBS TCA Winter 2020 Press Tour at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, Calif. ViacomCBS is planning a new streaming service that incorporates the existing CBS All Access platform and adds content from Viacom brands like MTV and BET as well as Paramount movies. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)

    By Mae Anderson, Technology Writer

    NEW YORK (AP) --

    ViacomCBS is planning a new streaming service that will combine the existing CBS All Access service with Paramount movies and shows from Viacom channels such as MTV and BET.

    The move had been expected since CBS and Viacom combined in August to better compete in the increasingly competitive streaming environment. 

    CBS was one of the first media companies to launch its own streaming service. Its $6-a-month service CBS All Access includes original programming such as new "Star Trek" series and a revival of "The Twilight Zone." The service also has old and current broadcast shows.

    Since then, Disney launched its $7-a-month Disney Plus service, while Comcast's NBCUniversal and AT&T's WarnerMedia have services coming, tapping movies and shows from their channels and production studios. The companies are all trying to challenge Netflix, Amazon and other established players in the streaming arena as their channels face challenges from people ditching cable TV subscriptions.

    In a call Thursday with investors, CEO Bob Bakish said ViacomCBS plans to add "substantial content" to CBS All Access to create a "combined 'House of Brand' product."

    That means adding content from Viacom properties Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, BET and Smithsonian and movies from the Paramount library. 

    Bakish said the new service is designed to fill the gap between ViacomCBS' free ad-supported service, PlutoTV, and its premium Showtime service, which costs $11 a month. It is set to launch later this year. Bakish did not say how much the new service will cost or whether its name will remain CBS All Access.

    The CBS and Showtime streaming services now have 11 million monthly active users combined. ViacomCBS is targeting 16 million by the end of the year. PlutoTV has 22 million monthly active users, and ViacomCBS is targeting 30 million by the end of the year.

    Separately, WarnerMedia said it reached a deal with Google's YouTube TV service to offer the upcoming HBO Max as an add-on to YouTube TV's $50-a-month subscription. It will cost extra, but the price wasn't immediately disclosed. HBO Max will cost $15 on its own, though some AT&T customers will get it for free. AT&T has said it was working on deals to bundle HBO Max with other companies that offer HBO to their services.

    Tags:Bob BakishCBS All AccessParamountViacomCBS



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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