Paramount Streaming (formerly CBS Digital Media Group, CBS Interactive, ViacomCBS Streaming), a division of

Paramount Global Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. I ...

, oversees the company’s streaming technology and offers direct-to-consumer services, free, premium and pay. These include Pluto TV, which has more than 250 live and original channels, and Paramount+, a subscription service that combines breaking news, live sports, and premium entertainment.

History

As CBS Interactive

On May 30, 2007, CBS Interactive acquired

Last.fm Last.fm is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Using a music recommender system called "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste by recording details of the tracks the user listens to, e ...

for £140 million (US$280 million). On June 30, 2008,

CNET Networks ''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...

was acquired by CBS and the assets were merged into CBS Interactive, including

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

TV.com TV.com was a website owned by Red Ventures that covered television series and episodes with a focus on English-language shows made or broadcast in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Origin ...

, and

Movietome TV.com was a website owned by Red Ventures that covered television series and episodes with a focus on English-language shows made or broadcast in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Origin ...

. On March 15, 2012, it was announced that CBS Interactive acquired

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

-based website

Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news, and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time'' mag ...

and

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

-based website

Comic Vine Whiskey Media was an American online media company founded independently by ''CNET'' co-founder Shelby Bonnie in 2008. It was the parent company of Tested, Screened, and Anime Vice, and the former parent company of ''Giant Bomb'' and Comic Vine. W ...

from

Whiskey Media Whiskey Media was an American online media company founded independently by '' CNET'' co-founder Shelby Bonnie in 2008. It was the parent company of Tested, Screened, and Anime Vice, and the former parent company of ''Giant Bomb'' and Comic Vine. ...

, who sold off their other remaining websites to BermanBraun. This occasion marked the return of

video game journalist Video game journalism is a branch of journalism concerned with the reporting and discussion of video games, typically based on a core "reveal–preview–review" cycle. With the prevalence and rise of independent media online, online publicati ...

Jeff Gerstmann Jeff Gerstmann (born August 1, 1975) is an American video game journalist. Former editorial director of the gaming website ''GameSpot'' and the co-founder/editor of the gaming website ''Giant Bomb'', Gerstmann began working at ''GameSpot'' in th ...

to the CBS Interactive division of video game websites, which includes

and

GameFAQs GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. The site has a databa ...

, and has Gerstmann once again working directly with some of his former peers at GameSpot within the same building at the CBS Interactive headquarters.Giant Bomb, Comic Vine join CBS Interactive
GameSpot.com On April 17, 2012, it was announced that

Major League Gaming Major League Gaming Corp. (MLG) is a professional esports organization. MLG is headquartered in New York City, New York and was founded in 2002 by Sundance DiGiovanni and Mike Sepso. MLG has held official video game tournaments throughout the ...

and CBS Interactive would be entering a partnership alongside

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...

to be the only exclusive online broadcaster of their Pro Circuit competitions, as well as for advertising representation. CBS Interactive Logo

CBS Corp./Viacom re-merger and afterwards

On November 4, 2019, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' reported that

Jim Lanzone James Lanzone (born January 20, 1971) is an American businessman and the CEO of Yahoo Inc. Previously, he was CEO of Tinder. He is also the former president and CEO of CBS Interactive, a top 10 Internet property that operated key websites includi ...

would be leaving the company after 9 years to become an executive in residence at

Benchmark Capital Benchmark is a venture capital firm based in San Francisco that provides seed money to startups. History The firm's most successful investment was a 1997 investment of $6.7 million in eBay for 22.1% of the company. In 2011, it invested $12 mill ...

and would be succeeded by Marc DeBevoise. CBS Interactive's parent

CBS Corporation The second incarnation of CBS Corporation (the first being a short-lived rename of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) was an American multinational media conglomerate with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, and t ...

merged with sister company

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...

on December 4, 2019, forming

ViacomCBS Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. I ...

. On September 14, 2020, it was announced that

Red Ventures Red Ventures is an American media company, which owns and operates brands such as Lonely Planet, CNET, ZDNet, The Points Guy, Healthline and Bankrate. Red Ventures focuses on sites that dispense news, advice, and reviews. The company's corporat ...

would acquire the “CNET Media Group” from ViacomCBS for $500 million, which was finalized on October 30, 2020. After the divestment of the “CNET Media Group”, CBS Interactive was dissolved after an organizational restructuring and renamed ViacomCBS Streaming in order to accelerate

'direct-to-consumer streaming strategies.

On March 4, 2021, ViacomCBS Streaming renamed CBS All Access to

Paramount+ Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

, with additional streaming content and rebranding taking place at that time. ViacomCBS Streaming was renamed as "Paramount Streaming", in-line with the rebranding of parent company ViacomCBS to Paramount Global in February 2022.

Properties

Some of the digital media properties under Paramount Streaming are *

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

Pluto TV Pluto TV is a free, ad-supported video streaming service owned and operated by the Paramount Streaming division of Paramount Global. Co-founded by Tom Ryan, Ilya Pozin and Nick Grouf in 2013 and based in Los Angeles, California, in the United Sta ...

BET+ BET+ (pronounced "BET plus") is an over-the-top SVOD service operated by Tyler Perry Studios and the Paramount Streaming, a division of Paramount Global. The service was first announced on June 24, 2019 and launched on September 19, 2019. BET+ ...

Noggin Noggin may refer to: General * Noggin or gill (volume), a unit of volume * Noggin (cup), a small cup * Noggin, slang for head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, an ...

CBS News (streaming service) CBS News (formerly CBSN, also known as the CBS News Streaming Network) is an American streaming video news channel operated by the CBS News and Paramount Streaming divisions of Paramount Global. Launched on November 6, 2014, it features blocks ...

CBS Sports HQ CBS Sports HQ is a streaming video sports channel operated by the CBS Sports and Paramount Streaming divisions of Paramount focused on airing sports news, highlights and scores, similar to pre-2010 ESPNews. CBS Sports HQ is co-headquartered in St ...

* ET Live (broadcast syndicator)

Divested/defunct

When the company was known as CBS Interactive, it owned several websites, most of which were sold to

in 2020. Its former websites are:

Radio.com Audacy, previously known as Radio.com, is a free broadcast and Internet radio platform owned by the namesake company Audacy, Inc. (formerly known as Entercom). The Audacy platform functions as a music recommender system and is the national umbr ...

BNET ''BNET'' was an online magazine dedicated to issues of business management. It was owned by CBS Interactive and was a part of its business portfolio alongside ZDNet, TechRepublic, SmartPlanet SmartPlanet was an online magazine that covered ...

CNET ''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...

Download.com CNET Download (originally Download.com) is an Internet download directory website launched in 1996 as a part of CNET. Initially it resided on the domain ''download.com'', and then ''download.com.com'' for a while, and is now ''download.cnet.com'' ...

TechRepublic TechRepublic is an online trade publication and social community for IT professionals, providing advice on best practices and tools for the needs of IT decision-makers. It was founded in 1997 in Louisville, Kentucky, by Tom Cottingham and Kim Sp ...

ZDNet ZDNET is a business technology news website owned and operated by Red Ventures. The brand was founded on April 1, 1991, as a general interest technology portal from Ziff Davis and evolved into an enterprise IT-focused online publication. Hist ...

onGamers onGamers was an online magazine focused upon professional electronic sports (esports) coverage. The onGamers platform was originally a part of GameSpot as the esports division, which was also owned by owned by CBS Interactive. Development of the ...

, TVGuide.com,

Chowhound Chowhound (or chowhound.com) was a food website owned by Red Ventures. It ceased operations on March 28, 2022. History Chowhound was a popular online food community founded by jazz trombonist and food writer Jim Leff and Bob Okumura in 1997, kn ...

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

MetroLyrics MetroLyrics was a website dedicated to song lyrics. It was founded in December 2002, and its database contained over one million songs by over 16,000 artists. Unlike other lyric websites, MetroLyrics places a warning on songs that contain expli ...

and

UrbanBaby UrbanBaby was a New York–based Internet forum devoted to anonymous discussion of urban motherhood founded in August 1999 by Susan and John Maloney. It shut down on July 6, 2020. The site gained attention by many parents across major cities but ...

References

{{Portal bar, San Francisco Bay Area, Companies 2005 establishments in California American companies established in 2005 Companies based in San Francisco Mass media companies established in 2005 Online mass media companies of the United States

Streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...