“Paramount.”
That’s the new name of ViacomCBS (VIACA), the company announced on Tuesday. The new name will take effect on February 16 as the company celebrates Paramount+ — its streaming service, which launched roughly a year ago.
“An iconic global company deserves an iconic global name. One that reflects the power of our content; one that reflects our role as stewards of a rich heritage and as leaders in the future of entertainment,” Bob Bakish, president & CEO, and Shari Redstone, the non-executive chair of the company’s board of directors, told employees in an internal memo on Tuesday.
The two added that ViacomCBS will legally be known as “Paramount Global” but will be referred to solely as Paramount.
The company will trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange as “PARAA.” Paramount+ now has 32.8 million total subscribers, having added 7.3 million during the most recent quarter.
“For more than a century, the name Paramount has been synonymous with great entertainment and industry leadership. It’s part of our history, as pioneers of the Golden Age of Hollywood,” Bakish and Redstone said. “But as Paramount+ has made clear, it’s also about our bright future.”
The name change is not the first for the company. CBS and Viacom merged to become ViacomCBS in 2019, something of a reunion for the two companies, which had split in 2006. The streaming service CBS All Access was rebranded as Paramount+ last year.
Bakish and Redstone noted that the new name will “reflect who we are, what we aspire to be, and all that we stand for.”
Paramount is one of the most well known names in Hollywood history. The new name also helps to bring together its collection of brands that include Paramount Pictures, CBS, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, BET, and MTV under one recognizable name.
