Viacom International Media Networks is planning to offer a new SVOD in Denmark, Sweden and Norway starting in October.
Paramount+ will combine Paramount films (both first pay TV window and classic) along with about 800 episodes of series from Viacom networks including Comedy Central and MTV. The service will be sold by pay-TV operators YouSee, Telenor/Canal Digital, Com Hem, Telenor/Canal Digital and Get and Telenor/Canal Digital, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"Subscribers to Paramount+ will secure a first pay TV window for new Paramount movie releases, including 'Jack Reacher: Never Go Back,' 'Allied,' 'Fences,' 'Monster Trucks,' 'Rings,' 'Brother Nature,' 'Goat' and 'xXx: Return of Xander Cage,'" the company said in a statement.
For Viacom, Paramount+ will be the first time it combines its first-run Paramount films with Viacom series in an SVOD offering.
RELATED: Viacom CEO says $10-$20 entertainment channel bundle coming this year
For Viacom, the launch of a branded SVOD in Europe arrives amid continued assurances from CEO Bob Bakish that an entertainment-only, nonsports TV channel bundle, priced around $10 to $20, is coming for pay-TV subscribers this year.
“We fundamentally believe a lower-price offering would be very compelling,” said Bakish during a Viacom earnings call in May, adding that it would likely not involve all of Viacom’s channels.
Meanwhile, fellow programmer Discovery Communications, which is acquiring Scripps Networks Interactive for $14.6 billion, said it could launch a lifestyle streaming service of its own.
In talking with media and investors following the deal announcement, Discovery CEO David Zaslav said that Discovery and Scripps might now have the combined scale to launch their own lifestyle channel streaming service and charge $10 to $20 per month. That model could potentially give Discovery another avenue for monetizing its content—whether by subscription fees or ad revenue—that isn’t reliant on pay-TV operators.