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LOS ANGELES, May 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Fox Corporation (Nasdaq: FOXA, FOX) today announced an agreement via its subsidiary to acquire Outkick Media, LLC, a digital media platform founded and led by Clay Travis, and related assets. Outkick is an omnichannel leader in sports, opinion, politics, and pop culture content across its radio, podcasts, online and social outlets, as well as being one of the foremost sources of sports wagering information in the United States. Further, Outkick is in an exclusive marketing agreement with FOX’s partner FanDuel and serves as a significant source of sports wagering referrals.

Fox Corporation Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lachlan Murdoch commented: “As FOX further diversifies our growing digital portfolio and broadens our position in the sports wagering ecosystem, there could be no better acquisition than Outkick. Clay and his team have quickly made Outkick a content powerhouse with a very large, loyal and engaged audience. We expect the synergies presented across FOX’s existing portfolio of assets will turbocharge this exciting business.”

Travis added: “Outkick has grown out of my passion for producing bold, well-informed, and entertaining content about sports, current events and, more recently, sports wagering. With the power of FOX behind us, we look forward to maintaining Outkick’s unwavering commitment to that mission, as well as further accelerating the growth of our audience, and continued leadership in the sports wagering affiliate category.”

Outkick’s business spans multiple platforms and outlets. Clay Travis’ sports radio show reaches more than 10 million monthly listeners and is the #1 daily sports radio show in the mornings in the U.S.; the Outkick podcast network, which just launched in September, already notches more than four million monthly episode downloads. Outkick also draws millions of users monthly to its website, video posts and social media channels.

In addition, Outkick creates highly compelling sports wagering content, and currently has a successful, exclusive marketing arrangement with FanDuel. The Outkick platform is one of FanDuel’s attractive sources of wagering leads.

The Outkick users are highly-engaged with the brand, making them an appealing group for advertisers. Approximately two-thirds of users are between the ages of 18 and 54, with more than 70% reporting household income above $50,000 and nearly three-quarters being college-educated.

FOX plans to operate Outkick as an independent brand and leverage its content across its existing platforms. Clay Travis will remain integrally involved at Outkick and serve as its President.

Outkick Media is jointly owned by Clay Travis and Savage Ventures. Savage Ventures will continue having an operational role in the business going forward. Methuselah Advisors served as the exclusive financial advisor to Outkick for the transaction.

About Fox Corporation
Fox Corporation produces and distributes compelling news, sports and entertainment content through its iconic domestic brands including: FOX News Media, FOX Sports, FOX Entertainment and FOX Television Stations. These brands hold cultural significance with consumers and commercial importance for distributors and advertisers. The breadth and depth of our footprint allows us to deliver content that engages and informs audiences, develop deeper consumer relationships and create more compelling product offerings. FOX maintains an impressive track record of news, sports, and entertainment industry success that shapes our strategy to capitalize on existing strengths and invest in new initiatives. For more information about Fox Corporation, please visit www.FoxCorporation.com.

MIAMI, April 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Celebriffy published this new monetizing social media platform to provide real freedom and greater monetization control to content creators suffering from demonetizing, low payouts, payment interruption, antifreedom platform rules, and fan relationship limitations pressed by existing social media content publishing platforms. Frustration is killing great content for everyone. The existing power structure has stripped many talented performance artists of their opportunity to share art and build fan networks of value.

Celebriffy , The Newest Monetizing Platform
Celebriffy , The Newest Monetizing Platform
Celebriffy is Building the Best Monetization Platform for professionals and individuals with special skills who want to profit and share their knowledge with others through social media. “I have worked with the Celebriffy visionaries – recording artist and entrepreneur Noelia, Music Producer and Aviation Entrepreneur Jorge Reynoso along with Canadian Businessman and Software Designer Omar Al Atroshi – since they first conceived of this engaging platform that priorities the content creators, and focusses on those with skills to share, avoiding the entertainment aspects of other platforms” said Harvey Kesner, co-founder and counsel. “We want to open social media monetization opportunities for the many who have skills or knowledge they wish to share on social media to earn extra income.”

Celebriffy is the Newest and Hottest Social Media Platform for content creators and professionals to monetize

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Celebriffy believes that ‘content is king’ and creators deserve the lion’s share of revenue generated from their art. From a sane perspective, why should the platforms earn the hundreds of Billions of dollars generated and only pay the tiniest percentage for the content that drives them? Celebriffy reverses the pay and power ratio between platform revenues and talent revenues. The internet should be a medium to provide real freedom of sharing content, allowing groups to gather around shared interest. Celebriffy honors the content makers and creatives that give joy, education, and value to the world by empowering earnings to justify continued art creation and sharing.

The Celebriffy platform gives full freedom and control of content, allowing maximum artistic expression, and its fan interaction features allow for massive live and recorded broadcast with full interaction as well as one-on-one private contact, immediately, upon using the app. All the features of the app are designed to allow talent to build and maintain the strongest fan base, with total independent freedom of choice, down to monetizing control over each individual fan relationship, in unprecedented ways.

The Celebriffy App is free. Your Content is not! Get paid like a Rockstar!

Trending: Get early access to the Celebriffy app here and join the content monetization revolution!

ABOUT CELEBRIFFY

Celebriffy is a powerful content publishing and monetization platform with a user-friendly app, empowering content creators to full control of content value, fan engagement and freedom of expression.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Lori Ripstein
lori@celebrify.app

COMPANY CONTACT:

Raphael Gonzalez
raphael@celebrify.app

NEW YORK—Apr. 5, 2021– ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC, VIACA) today announced that ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) has agreed to acquire Chilevisión from WarnerMedia, a division of AT&T (NYSE:T).

Through the transaction, VCNI further expands its footprint in Latin America and bolsters its streaming business with a new premium content library and pipeline to fuel the increasing demand for Spanish language content across platforms including Paramount+ and Pluto TV. The acquisition will benefit consumers and partners by offering even more diverse entertainment options across premium, pay and free platforms.

The deal will strengthen and expand VCNI’s presence in the Southern Cone of Latin America by creating an aligned commercial, content and distribution strategy. The acquisition will include Chilevisión’s market leading free-to-air (FTA) television network, which will complement VCNI’s global content offering. Chilevisión attracted approximately 24* percent share of viewership in 2020. (*2020 SOV from IBOPE (FTA, total households, 6am-2am).

Chilevisión’s library is comprised of substantial content spanning multiple genres including sports, entertainment, and news, and it has vast production capabilities. These attributes, in combination with Chilevisión network’s reach, and a windowing strategy of its content pipeline through free, paid, and premium, will serve as a valuable marketing vehicle for VCNI’s streaming platforms in the region, and expand VCNI’s studio and linear presence in the region.

“Latin America is one of the world’s fastest-growing streaming markets, and Chilevisión will be a key driver of our accelerated streaming strategy in the region,” said Raffaele Annecchino, President and CEO, ViacomCBS Networks International. “Chilevisión is an extraordinary addition to our existing business in Latin America and will fortify ViacomCBS’s position as a premier Spanish language content producer.”

Chilevisión will fall under the leadership of Juan “JC” Acosta, President of ViacomCBS International Studios and Networks Americas. The acquisition joins the ViacomCBS Americas portfolio, which includes the premium SVOD service, Paramount+; top FAST service Pluto TV; Nickelodeon’s interactive learning service for preschoolers, Noggin; ViacomCBS International Studios production hub; FTA broadcaster Telefe; more than 10 branded pay TV networks, including MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and Comedy Central, among others; multiple on-the-ground events and experiences; and an extensive consumer products catalogue. VCNI Americas has offices in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.

The purchase price of the acquisition will be financed by ViacomCBS’s existing cash balances. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI)

ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI), a unit of ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC), is comprised of many of the world’s most iconic consumer brands. Its portfolio includes Channel 5, Telefe, Network 10, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, Paramount Network, as well as streaming services Paramount+ and PlutoTV, and ViacomCBS International Studios, among others. In addition to offering innovative streaming services and digital video products, ViacomCBS Networks International provides powerful capabilities in production, distribution and advertising solutions for partners on five continents and across more than 180 countries.

About WarnerMedia

WarnerMedia is a leading media and entertainment company that creates and distributes premium and popular content from a diverse array of talented storytellers and journalists to global audiences through its consumer brands including: HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS, truTV, CNN, DC, New Line, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies and others. The organization also includes Xandr’s suite of advanced advertising solutions designed to help to improve advertising for brands, publishers, and consumers.

BENGALURU, India, March 30, 2021 – Infomo and Adfomo today announced they had entered into a binding strategic merger agreement, subject to shareholder approval, to create a multi-channel self-serve media management platform for large publishers, and advertisers, globally. The platform extends the capabilities of the legacy Google Delivery Network (GDN/Programmatic) to include the selling and buying of traditional media.

The new multi-channel self-serve media sales platform delivers unique capabilities that enable large multi-channel media publishers to standardize and automate their sales processes to cover all types of media advertising including Digital, Print, Radio, TV, Out-Of-Home (OOH) and Digital-Out-Of-Home (DOOH) channels.

The platform standardizes and automates traditional media buying and selling and enables publishers to take control over digital ad sales. Infomo’s standardized media sales process provides substantial benefits to media buyers supporting marketing and advertising needs of brands, agencies, and the SME sector.

This initiative extends Infomo’s total addressable market significantly. According to Magna1, in 2020 the global ad spend was US$569 billion of which traditional media was estimated to be US$233 billion. Unlike USA, Australia, and a number of European countries, ad-spend with traditional media still outweighs digital ad spend. In India, digital advertising is still in its infancy with 2020 data revealing that digital advertising accounted for only 11% of the US$12.2 billion yearly ad spend.

Speaking about the merger, Peter Jermyn, Chairman of Infomo, said: “Infomo’s vision has always been centred around empowering sellers to take control over their own marketing value chains. By aggregating the significant potential of Adfomo with our own, we will be able to automate and standardize the digital and traditional media selling process and more strongly project ourselves as a unique media advertising group. The merger, in my view, creates the classic business equation of 1+1=3.”

Julian Glynn, the Chairman of Adfomo, noted: “Merging with Infomo will provide Adfomo an opportunity to immediately address a global market. Adfomo is a perfect fit with Infomo’s global strategy adding necessary components to integrate the selling of all types of traditional media sales into Infomo’s digital sales platform.”

Welcoming this merger, Infomo Founder & CEO Ananda Rao said: “Advertisers in today’s world require self-serve automated solutions to buy media and they need extensive audience reach, known audience targeting, and measurable audience engagement. Our partnerships with telecom carriers and leading publishers around the world provide advertisers access to massive known audiences. Our merged platform provides a range of new and powerful capabilities enabling publishers to directly expose multi-channel inventory and advertisers to directly target, engage and interact with known audiences.”

Speaking about the strategic possibilities, Adfomo Founder & CEO George Papadopoulos commented: “Adfomo was founded to provide a standalone marketplace to sell and buy traditional media inventory. Empowering publishers with their own comprehensive multi-channel media sales solution will automate and standardize the buying of any kind of media. Most media publishers run traditional and digital channels separately. It is difficult to commercially justify a stand-alone digital division. Further, running separate traditional and digital businesses is not efficient. Together with Infomo, we now deliver one fully integrated media management platform that makes it extremely easy for publishers and advertisers to work collaboratively to design and run customized multi-channel campaigns.”

About Infomo:
Infomo is the first company in the world to design and deploy a publisher-centric platform to sell digital inventory. Infomo provides an innovative web and app advertising ecosystem that harnesses the unique power and reach of telecom operators and large publishers and their significant subscriber communities to deliver engaging, media-rich, and highly targeted premium advertising and promotional content to subscribers during their everyday online activities. Learn more at www.infomo.com.

NEW YORK–Mar. 18, 2021– The National Football League (NFL) and ViacomCBS announced today a new 11-year multiplatform rights agreement that extends CBS’ long-standing relationship with the NFL through the 2033 season. CBS Sports continues as the home of the NFL’s American Football Conference (AFC), featuring many of the game’s brightest young stars, with all games broadcast on the CBS Television Network and streamed live on Paramount+, ViacomCBS’ flagship streaming service. This historic agreement also grants an expansive list of NFL rights across ViacomCBS networks and platforms, enabling the company to maximize its content creation, distribution and reach throughout the length of the deal.

The new agreement, which begins with the 2023 season, allows for CBS Sports to broadcast and stream more Sunday afternoon games than ever before and also includes an expanded schedule of games featuring teams from the National Football Conference (NFC). In addition, the schedule is highlighted by 10 CBS doubleheaders, including the NFL’s most-watched window Sundays at 4:25 PM ET, eight singleheaders and the annual Thanksgiving Day game. CBS Sports will broadcast three Super Bowls over the length of the deal, including the first in the new agreement, Super Bowl LVIII in 2024, as well as Super Bowl LXII in 2028 and Super Bowl LXVI in 2032.

The CBS Television Network and Paramount+ will also present a full slate of playoff games each season, featuring the AFC Championship game, one Divisional game and one Wild Card game. A second Wild Card game will be added to the CBS Sports lineup during the 2024, 2029 and 2033 seasons.

ViacomCBS will retain its extensive in-market exclusivity, ensuring that the CBS-affiliated stations and ViacomCBS platforms will continue to be the source for local availability of THE NFL ON CBS. CBS will also gain increased rights to protect games from being flexed to other networks and time slots.

Paramount+ has been granted new and expanded rights for the streaming service, allowing for the flexibility to distribute NFL games on both the premium tier at $9.99 and the new $4.99 ad-supported tier that will debut in June. The rights begin with the 2021 season and extend throughout the length of the new deal to 2033.

“We are thrilled to extend and expand our long-term partnership with the NFL to create even more value for ViacomCBS and for NFL fans,” said Bob Bakish, President and CEO, ViacomCBS. “Today’s groundbreaking deal ensures that more big games will be available on CBS and Paramount+, with greater NFL programming opportunities featured across all ViacomCBS platforms including Pluto TV, vastly expanding the NFL’s reach among younger audiences in a rapidly evolving media landscape. NFL football is both a pillar of CBS Sports and huge differentiator for our streaming strategy, and our extensive partnership with the NFL will be fundamental to further driving growth and engagement on Paramount+ for years to come.”

“CBS’ NFL programming creates value for every one of our key constituents – our audience, advertisers, owned stations and affiliates, as well as our pay-tv distribution partners. It is must-have content that stands above the crowd in a fragmented television universe,” said George Cheeks, President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Entertainment Group. “The NFL ON CBS has been a vital part of our broadcasting business for decades and it will be a powerful driver of our streaming success in the decade ahead. Our brands share a great history and a very exciting future together.”

“The NFL has been a cornerstone of CBS Sports programming for more than 60 years. We are extremely pleased to extend our long-standing partnership with the NFL for the next decade,” said Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports. “The NFL is the most valuable content in all of media, and we are excited that the deal allows for more Sunday afternoon games than ever before and we retain the NFL’s most-watched time slot. This wide-ranging deal includes significantly expanded rights, and we look forward to continued growth and to maximizing the enormous value of the NFL across all of our CBS Sports platforms.”

The landmark NFL/ViacomCBS agreement includes a wide array of expanded rights, ensuring that as the media landscape evolves, ViacomCBS has extensive rights to innovate its content creation and distribution, reaching a variety of audiences across its various networks, properties and platforms. The broad rights grant includes expanded rights across CBS’ digital and social platforms, and the ability to implement interactive features for consumers on Paramount+ and via ViacomCBS’ distribution partners. The company also has the capability to collaborate with the NFL to create alternate game telecasts, similar to the highly acclaimed, family-friendly Wild Card playoff game production on Nickelodeon this past January. Additionally, CBS has the opportunity to partner with the NFL for legalized sports betting applications.

ViacomCBS and the NFL have also agreed to long-term rights extensions for CBS Sports HQ, Pluto TV and INSIDE THE NFL, which will stream exclusively on Paramount+ beginning with the 2021 season.

CBS Sports first began televising NFL regular-season games in 1956, and this season marks its 62^nd season. CBS Sports had broadcast rights to the National Football Conference package from 1970 through 1993 and began televising the American Football Conference package in 1998.

The NFL has a one-time right to opt out of this long-term multiplatform rights agreement after the 2029 season.

VIAC-IR

NEW YORK—Mar. 4, 2021– Paramount+, the highly anticipated streaming service from ViacomCBS, launched today with an unparalleled content offering that bundles live sports, breaking news, and an expansive collection of exclusive new originals, hit series, marquee franchises and popular movies. Featuring more than 30,000 episodes and countless films from ViacomCBS’ family of world-renowned brands and production studios, including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel, Paramount+ is home to premium entertainment for the whole family.

“The launch of Paramount+, which builds on our legacy of innovation and superior storytelling, is a significant milestone for ViacomCBS that demonstrates our commitment to being a global leader in streaming,” said Tom Ryan, President and Chief Executive Officer, ViacomCBS Streaming. “By combining fresh original content with live and on-demand programming and an established library of titles from world-class entertainment brands, we have created an unrivaled service that offers live sports, breaking news and entertainment for all audiences.”

Premiering today with the launch of the service is a slate of new originals, including The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, the first-ever all CGI SpongeBob motion picture event; Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years, a prequel series and the first-ever spinoff of SpongeBob SquarePants; MTV Documentary Films 76 Days, the Oscar Shortlisted documentary that looks at life in the earliest days of the COVID-19 crisis in Wuhan, China; For Heaven’s Sake, a docuseries blending comedy and crime for a unique take on uncovering the truth; The Real World Homecoming: New York, a reunion special with the original New York cast in the iconic NYC loft; 60 Minutes+, a new form of the flagship series that reveals the stories behind the news through original reporting and captivating interviews; and Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning out the News, the second season of the animated daily news satire series.

These titles join a growing slate of originals currently on the service exclusively, including The Good Fight, Why Women Kill, The Stand, Star Trek: Lower Decks, No Activity, Coyote and more.

Coming this Spring to Paramount+ is an extensive lineup of live sports including every UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League match, culminating with the UEFA Champions League Final on May 29; coverage of the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, featuring all of CBS’s games throughout the tournament highlighted by the National Championship game and Final Four with first-round coverage beginning on March 19; and CBS Sports’ coverage of The Masters.

The Paramount+ slate will also continue to expand with 36 exclusive originals coming to the service in 2021, including the following titles that will debut this spring: Rugrats, an all-new series featuring Nick’s iconic babies, back together with the original voice cast and an all-new CG animation style; No Activity, a half-hour police comedy that will transition from live action to animated for season four; and Behind the Music, the groundbreaking and prolific music documentary series returns with several new episodes and the best of the vault remastered. Beginning late spring, the Paramount+ film library will grow to over 2,500 titles including recent hits from Paramount Pictures, such as Bumblebee, Crawl, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Gemini Man, Like a Boss, Pet Sematary, Playing with Fire, Rocketman and Sonic the Hedgehog, as well as popular movies from MGM, such as Bill & Ted Face the Music, Skyfall, The Addams Family, Child’s Play and Valley Girl.

The reimagined service, built on the strong foundation of CBS All Access, features live linear programming, plus a deep and growing content portfolio that spans the best in scripted dramas, kids and family, sports, news, documentaries, comedy, music and reality. Starting today, subscribers can stream:

• A rich library of nearly 7,000 beloved kid’s episodes, including favorites from Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. like SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, PAW Patrol, Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Henry Danger and Rugrats: All Grown Up; as well as Paramount+ originals, such as WildBrain’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Boat Rocker’s new Danger Mouse and new editions of Lassie, George of the Jungle and Mr. Magoo from DreamWorks Animation’s Classic Media.
• CBS programming, including primetime series such as The Amazing Race, All Rise, Young Sheldon, Clarice, The Equalizer, Blue Bloods, Evil and more, in addition to late night and daytime CBS shows. Plus, every prior season of 15 hit CBS series including Survivor, NCIS, Hawaii Five-0 and Criminal Minds.
• A massive comedy catalogue of over 6,000 episodes, including always-trending Comedy Central series like The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Chappelle’s Show, Reno 911!, Key & Peele, Inside Amy Schumer, Crank Yankers and more.
• Over 5,000 episodes from the biggest reality shows, including popular MTV series such as RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, The Real World, Teen Mom, The Challenge, Jersey Shore and The Hills, among others.
• The complete Star Trek Universe, including CBS All Access originals such as Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Lower Decks, plus all six classic Star Trek series including Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: The Voyager.
• A library of fan-favorite movies, including film franchises such as Indiana Jones, The Godfather and Mission: Impossible; comedies such as Tommy Boy and Rat Race; horror films like The Ring and Pet Sematary; romantic comedies such as Failure to Launch and Kate & Leopold; and classics like Roman Holiday.
• Popular episodes from BET series including The Game, Real Husbands of Hollywood, Everybody Hates Chris and Single Ladies; also unmissable documentaries from the Smithsonian Channel such as The Green Book: Guide to Freedom, Disasters at Sea and Aerial America.
• Episodes from classic series including Perry Mason, The Twilight Zone Classic, I Love Lucy, Beverly Hills 90210, Frasier, Family Ties, Cheers, Happy Days, The Love Boat, The Odd Couple, Melrose Place, Macgyver, Taxi and The Brady Bunch.
• Breaking news and impactful journalism from the award-winning CBS News team, including renowned CBS News programs, such as 60 Minutes, CBS Sunday Morning, Face The Nation, CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell and CBS This Morning, plus live streams of local affiliates in over 200 markets across the U.S. and the 24-hour streaming news service CBSN featuring live, anchored coverage.

How to Stream

Paramount+ has two pricing tiers available to U.S. subscribers that marry the best of live and on-demand programming. The premium tier, at $9.99, is available now and combines live sports, including NFL games, soccer and more; breaking news through CBSN; CBS’ live linear feed; and commercial free, on-demand entertainment options spanning Paramount+ originals to the full suite of current and library shows and movies with 4K, HDR and Dolby Vision and mobile downloads. In June, Paramount+ will introduce a new ad-supported tier, at $4.99, that offers live NFL games, news and entertainment, but no longer includes local live CBS station programming. A $5.99 ad-supported tier, which includes live CBS programming, is available until June at which point only the $4.99 and $9.99 tiers will be offered to new subscribers.

All Paramount+ subscribers will have access to a seamless user interface, enhanced curation and discovery, cross-platform dynamic play functionality, personalized homepages, content categories and central hubs for ViacomCBS’ brands. Additionally, each subscription option will include parental control capabilities and up to 6 individual profiles.

Consumers can subscribe to Paramount+ online at ParamountPlus.com; via the Paramount+ app for iOS and Android; and across a wide number of platforms, including smart TVs, connected-TV devices, online, mobile, gaming consoles, and leading OTT providers. Paramount+ will also be distributed on major platforms in local markets internationally. The new Paramount+ app will begin rolling out across platforms today. For more details on Paramount+, please visit ParamountPlus.com.

International Rollout

ViacomCBS will bring Paramount+ to international markets with initial debuts in 18 Latin American countries and Canada today; the Nordics on March 25, 2021; and Australia with a rebrand and expansion of 10 All Access later this year.

With production capabilities across five continents, strong distribution agreements and local relationships and expertise around the world, Paramount+ will leverage ViacomCBS’ leading global reach — including the largest global broadcast footprint — to drive streaming growth and international expansion. ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) will build on its momentum in prized formats, and as one of the top global producers of Spanish-language content, to bring exclusive series to market for fans of kids and family, scripted dramas, reality and more. Subscription prices will vary by market, but Paramount+ will be available to international audiences at a compelling price point.

* Click HERE for art

Paramount+

Paramount+, a direct-to-consumer digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service from ViacomCBS, combines live sports, breaking news, and a mountain of entertainment. The premium streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel. The service is also the streaming home to unmatched sports programming, including every CBS Sports event, from golf to football to basketball and more, plus exclusive streaming rights for major sports properties, including some of the world’s biggest and most popular soccer leagues. Paramount+ also enables subscribers to stream local CBS stations live across the U.S. in addition to the ability to stream ViacomCBS Streaming’s other live channels: CBSN for 24/7 news, CBS Sports HQ for sports news and analysis, and ET Live for entertainment coverage.

For more information about Paramount+, please visit www.paramountplus.com and follow @ParamountPlus on social platforms.

About ViacomCBS:

ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC; VIACA) is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide. Driven by iconic consumer brands, its portfolio includes CBS, Showtime Networks, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, Paramount+, Pluto TV and Simon & Schuster, among others. The company delivers the largest share of the U.S. television audience and boasts one of the industry’s most important and extensive libraries of TV and film titles. In addition to offering innovative streaming services and digital video products, ViacomCBS provides powerful capabilities in production, distribution and advertising solutions for partners on five continents.

NEW YORK-BusinessWire -Feb. 24, 2021– ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC; VIACA) today updated investors on its differentiated streaming strategy, which leverages the company’s strong product offerings across free, premium and pay segments with Pluto TV and SHOWTIME® OTT to create a linked ecosystem with the highly anticipated launch of Paramount+ on March 4. Paramount+ will feature a powerful combination of live sports, breaking news and a mountain of entertainment from ViacomCBS’ portfolio of world-renowned brands and production studios, including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel.

Star Trek: Prodigy (Photo: Business Wire)

New details about Paramount+ were unveiled during the ViacomCBS Streaming Event presentation, including an expansive slate of over 50 exclusive original series across scripted dramas, kids and family, reality, comedy, music, sports, news and documentaries that are set to premiere on the service in the next two years, including 36 arriving in 2021. These originals will join a deep and growing content catalog of more than 30,000 episodes and 2,500 movie titles. In addition, pricing tiers, leading launch sponsors and international rollout plans were announced.

“In today’s entertainment landscape, ViacomCBS stands apart as the only media company to fully embrace every segment of the streaming universe across free, premium and pay,” said Bob Bakish, President and Chief Executive Officer, ViacomCBS. “The launch of Paramount+ supercharges our strategy with a broad pay service that will be home to everything consumers love, all in one place: live sports, breaking news and a mountain of entertainment, at scale. As we look ahead, ViacomCBS is ideally positioned to harness the full power of our assets and capabilities – from our world-class production studios and the value of our massive content library, to our global marketing platform and local relationships – to seize the global opportunity in streaming.”

Tom Ryan, President and Chief Executive Officer, ViacomCBS Streaming, said, “Built from an iconic portfolio of beloved consumer brands and iconic franchises like SpongeBob and Star Trek, Paramount+ is a compelling and differentiated streaming offering for all audiences. In combination with Pluto TV and SHOWTIME®, the service will further strengthen our robust linked streaming ecosystem, giving us a critical competitive advantage as we pursue our goal of reaching consumers across every platform, at every price point, with creativity, content and experiences that are second to none.”

Differentiated Content Strategy – Sports, News and Premium Entertainment, At Scale

The content strategy for Paramount+ is rooted in a commitment to telling great stories across every genre, including must-watch sports and news programming. The live and on-demand service will leverage the company’s biggest franchises and storied IP, including through premium originals and a deep library of shows and movies from some of the world’s greatest content creators, highlighting the hit-making power of ViacomCBS to deliver a truly unique offering with can’t-miss content and wide demographic appeal.

Paramount+ To Feature Robust Collection of Films

Select upcoming films from Paramount Pictures will have their streaming debut on Paramount+ immediately following a theatrical release window of 30-45 days, including: A Quiet Place Part II, PAW PATROL: The Movie and Mission: Impossible 7. Other key titles arriving on Paramount+ in 2022 following their theatrical runs, and in some cases after their pay TV debuts on EPIX, include: Snake Eyes, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Top Gun: Maverick, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Transformers 7, Dungeons and Dragons, Scream and more. Paramount Pictures’ recent titles will be available as well, from Dora and the Lost City of Gold and Sonic the Hedgehog to Bumblebee and Rocketman, all coming to Paramount+. These films will join the previously announced The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: Sponge on the Run, which will be available on Paramount+ at launch.

Additionally, Paramount Pictures announced an agreement with EPIX to make thousands of movie titles from a wide variety of studios available to Paramount+ subscribers. Beginning late spring, the service will stream some of the most popular films and franchises of all time, including films from the James Bond and Hunger Games franchises to features like The Addams Family and The Avengers, among many others in a deal that will grow the service’s film library to over 2,500 titles.

And, following a theatrical release by MGM and an exclusive pay television window with EPIX, MGM’s new movies will become available on Paramount+, including House of Gucci, Creed III and the highly anticipated new James Bond film, No Time to Die.

The company also outlined plans to ramp up production of movies made exclusively for Paramount+. The first of these feature-length films offered will include new versions of Paranormal Activity and Pet Sematary as well as an original supernatural story, The In Between, featuring Joey King, the star of the smash hit, The Kissing Booth. These titles produced by Paramount Players will join a collection of exclusive original movie premieres supplied by the broader portfolio of ViacomCBS studios.

Expansive Slate of Upcoming Paramount+ Original Series

Today’s virtual presentation previewed an extensive new slate of original content for Paramount+, ranging from gripping dramas and unscripted series to franchise expansions and brand-new animated titles.

Scripted Dramas

With brilliant creators, top talent and smart execution, ViacomCBS has been the creative force behind countless award-winning scripted drama series. This incredible collection will come together as a key pillar of the Paramount+ content library, with new additions of exclusive originals and exciting new takes on iconic franchises outlined as follows:

• Criminal Minds – top rated series in broadcast and streaming returns with a new scripted series that brings the team back together to investigate a single, fascinating case over 10 episodes.
• Flashdance – a young woman struggles to make her mark in the ballet world while navigating romance, money, art, friendship, and how to love herself. Award-winning Mad Men writer Tracy McMillan is writing and executive producing the drama series which will pick up from where the story left off, but in present-day. True Blood’s Angela Robinson will direct and executive produce the series with Lynda Obst.
• Halo – based on the iconic Xbox® franchise, Halo’s epic universe and cast of characters come to life in this new original drama series. In the new television adaptation, Halo will take place in the universe that first came to be in 2001, dramatizing an epic 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant. Halo will weave deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision of the future.
• Land Man – set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, Land Man is a modern-day tale of fortune seeking in the world of oil rigs. The series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics.
• Love Story – Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, the executive producers of Gossip Girl, The O.C. and Looking for Alaska, are bringing to Paramount+ a series based on the award-winning perennial film, Love Story.
• Mayor of Kingstown – follows the McLusky family, power brokers in Kingstown, Michigan, where the business of incarceration is the only thriving industry. Tackling themes of systemic racism, corruption and inequality, the series provides a stark look at their attempt to bring order and justice to a town that has neither.
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – the next installment of the popular Star Trek franchise is based on the years Captain Christopher Pike manned the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The series will follow Captain Pike, Science Officer Spock and Number One in the decade before Captain Kirk boarded the U.S.S. Enterprise.
• The Italian Job – when the grandchildren of the legendary Charlie Croker inherit his old safety deposit box, the quest for the infamous Italian bullion is reignited. The series, from Paramount Television Studios, is executive produced and written by Matt Wheeler (Hawaii Five-0), and produced by Donald De Line.
• The Man Who Fell To Earth – starring Oscar-nominee and BAFTA-winner Chiwetel Ejiofor, is based on the Walter Tevis novel of the same name and the iconic film starring David Bowie. The series will follow a new alien character who arrives on Earth at a turning point in human evolution, and must confront his own past to determine our future.
• The Offer – a scripted limited event series from Paramount Television Studios, based on Oscar-winning producer Al Ruddy’s extraordinary, never-revealed experiences of making The Godfather. The 10-episode event series is written and executive produced by Michael Tolkin (Escape at Dannemora, The Player). Ruddy will also serve as executive producer, alongside showrunner Nikki Toscano (Hunters), and Emmy® Award-winning producer Leslie Greif (Hatfields & McCoys).
• The Parallax View – a scripted series from Paramount Television Studios, based on the iconic film. The series will be executive produced by Paula Wagner.
• Y:1883 – follows the Dutton family as they embark on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America. It is a stark retelling of Western expansion, and an intense study of one.
• Yellowstone Spinoff, 6666 (Working Title) – founded when Comanches still ruled West Texas, no ranch in America is more steeped in the history of the West than the 6666. Still operating as it did two centuries before, and encompassing an entire county, the 6666 is where the rule of law and the laws of nature merge in a place where the most dangerous thing one does is the next thing… The 6666 is synonymous with the merciless endeavor to raise the finest horses and livestock in the world, and ultimately where world class cowboys are born and made.

Kids and Family

Home to some of the biggest franchises in the world, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and PAW Patrol, the kids’ portfolio is fueled by Nickelodeon’s library of nearly 7,000 hit episodes, plus a string of all-new originals based on the most beloved characters in the brand’s history, such as:

• Avatar – Nickelodeon’s new animation studio division dedicated entirely to creating content based on the wildly popular world of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. Led by the series’ original creators Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, in partnership with the Nickelodeon Animation Studio, Avatar Studios will produce for Paramount+ a wide-range of Avatar-inspired content, ranging from spinoffs and theatricals to short form.
• Dora the Explorer – a new live-action series based on the iconic character, designed for an older audience of kids 6-11 and their families.
• iCarly – a new chapter for the most successful kids’ sitcom of all time, where original cast members Miranda Cosgrove, Nathan Kress and Jerry Trainor join new friends for a look at these characters’ present-day lives, adventures and comedic mishaps.
• Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years – the first-ever spinoff of SpongeBob SquarePants, Kamp Koral is a CG animated original series that takes viewers back to when the iconic characters of Bikini Bottom met for the very first time, in a summer camp like no other.
• Rugrats – an all-new series featuring Nick’s iconic babies, back together with the original voice cast in new CG animation.
• Star Trek: Prodigy – the first-ever Star Trek for the kids and family audience, combining the Nickelodeon sensibility with the action and adventure hallmarks of the Star Trek franchise.
• The Fairly OddParents – a live-action take on one of Nick’s longest running and most successful animated hits.

This Nickelodeon-created slate joins Paramount+’s previously announced original kids’ series such as WildBrain’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Boat Rocker’s new Danger Mouse and new editions of Lassie, George of the Jungle and Mr. Magoo from DreamWorks Animation’s Classic Media.

Reality

A genre created by MTV in 1992, reality TV is one of the most popular forms of content today. It reigns at the top of broadcast and cable ratings around the globe and in streaming, it’s the fastest growing vertical. ViacomCBS leads the reality category with over 5,000 episodes of the biggest reality hits, with plans to expand its collection with the following original and reprisals:

• Big Brother Live Feeds – offers an in-depth, exclusive pass to the show where fans have the opportunity to watch all the action inside the Big Brother house.
• Dating Naked – the most vulnerable social experiment returns to bring dating back to its most honest, unguarded and naked form. Can these modern daters strip back their preconceived notions, carefully curated images AND their clothes to reveal their true selves and find love?
• Ink Master – the tattoo competition reality series where some of the nation’s top tattoo artists battle it out in various tattoo challenges that not only test the artists’ technical skills, but also their on-the-spot creativity for the title of Ink Master.
• Love Island on Paramount+ – an extension of the popular CBS reality series that takes subscribers beyond the boundaries of what’s shown in the broadcast with exclusive content and live visits to the Villa.
• Queen of the Universe – in a singing competition like no other, drag queens from all around the world compete to see who is Queen of the Universe. High heels, high octaves, high competition – this drag queen singing competition will blow your wig off. From Emmy® Award-winning production company, World of Wonder.
• Road Rules – back with a new roster of Road Warriors. These strangers will be abandoned in a far-flung location and stripped of their modern-day luxuries by boarding a restricted life in an RV, traveling from location to location. They will be guided by a set of clues, odd jobs and missions for money. If they last to the end of the trip, they walk away with the life changing prize.
• RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars – the best of the best from the Emmy® Award-winning RuPaul’s Drag Race return to compete for $100,000 and a coveted spot in the Drag Race Hall of Fame. In each episode, legendary queens will battle it out until only one drag queen is crowned the winner.
• The Challenge: All Stars – twenty-two of the most iconic, boldest, and fiercest Challenge All Stars from the original Real World and Road Rules have been selected to return for a second chance at the ultimate competition. All have history, but when relationships are the key to survival, will these legends be able to form new bonds or will their past lead to their demise? With $500,0000 and their legacies on the line, which of these All Stars will prove they are still the best of the best?
• The Real World: Homecoming: New York – almost 30 years later, the original “seven strangers” that paved the way for modern reality TV are moving back into the New York loft where it all began. Viewers will be reunited with the cast from the very first season of The Real World in a brand new multi-episode docuseries to find out, once again, what happens when they stop being polite… and start getting real. Series begins streaming on Thursday, March 4th.

Comedy

When it comes to beloved IP and iconic comedic franchises, Paramount+ delivers with a rich library of over 6,000 episodes in the genre alone. Joining this massive catalog of comedy titles, exclusive series arriving soon include:

• Frasier – Frasier’s back – and he’s more exactly the same than ever. Kelsey Grammer reprises his role as the Dr. Frasier Crane.
• Grease: The Rise of the Pink Ladies – with both classic and new songs, and a diverse cast, the series is a prequel to the unforgettable musical film, Grease, and tells the story of how Frenchy’s older sister, Jane, founded the Pink Ladies. The series, from Paramount Television Studios, is executive produced by Annabel Oakes (Atypical, Transparent), Marty Bowen (Twilight) and Erik Feig (La La Land).
• Guilty Party – a dark comedy starring Kate Beckinsale as a discredited journalist who finds herself in over her head when she latches onto the story of a young mother sentenced to life in jail for murdering her husband – a crime she claims she didn’t commit.
• Inside Amy Schumer – the Peabody, Emmy® and Writers Guild Award-winning franchise returns with five specials starring Amy Schumer, one of the entertainment industry’s leading forces as a stand-up comedian, actress, writer, producer and director.
• Reno 911! The Hunt For QAnon – a super-sized event based off the long-running hit, critically-acclaimed Comedy Central series. Most recently, Reno 911! received two 2020 Emmy® Award nominations for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series and for Outstanding Actress in A Short Form Comedy or Drama Series (Kerri Kenney-Silver). In 2021, the show is nominated for a Critics Choice Award.
• The Game – the popular BET sitcom returns with a mix of original cast and new players, and will offer a modern-day examination of Black culture through the prism of pro football.
• The Harper House – an animated family comedy that follows an overconfident female head of a household as she struggles to regain a higher status for herself and for her family of oddballs after losing her job and moving from the rich side to the poor side of an Arkansas small town.
• The Weekly Show with Trevor Noah (Working Title) – Trevor Noah will star in and produce an initial six episode series looking at stories across the societal landscape and talk with the people behind the headlines: people you know; people you don’t know; and people you didn’t even know you didn’t know.
• Younger – Darren Star’s critically acclaimed smash-hit, Younger, follows Liza Miller (Sutton Foster), a talented editor navigating the highly competitive world of publishing — while juggling the complications of mixing business with pleasure and facing the lie she created about her age to land her dream job.

Additionally, exclusive original comedy movies that will reignite franchises for new and nostalgia-driven fans alike are expected to arrive on Paramount+ in year one:

• Untitled Beavis & Butt-head Movie – Emmy® Award-winning Mike Judge reimagines MTV’s seminal, Gen X-defining Beavis and Butt-Head who return for another movie adventure to kick-off the new series.
• Workaholics Movie – made-for-streaming movie based off the popular long-running Comedy Central series starring Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine, Anders Holm and Kyle Newacheck.

Music

For almost 40 years, MTV has chronicled the world of music through the eyes of the most important artists — telling the stories that only MTV can, because MTV was there. And now, on Paramount+, MTV is unlocking its treasured vault to bring new and exclusive series like:

• Behind the Music – Behind the Music is back! The groundbreaking and prolific music documentary series returns with several new episodes and the best of the vault remastered and updated for today’s audiences with artist interviews, a creative refresh and reimagined visual style.
• From Cradle to Stage – this new six-part, unscripted television series from Director Dave Grohl was inspired by his mother, Virginia Hanlon Grohl, and based on her critically-acclaimed book, From Cradle to Stage: Stories from the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars. The series is a dynamic personal exploration of the special relationship between successful musicians and their moms. Each episode features a famous performer and their mom as well as Dave and Virginia.
• Unplugged – MTV’s most iconic musical performance franchise will come to Paramount+ several times a year as special intimate MTV Unplugged events featuring some of the world’s biggest artists.
• Yo! MTV Raps – MTV is bringing back its most storied hip-hop series and music franchise Yo! MTV Raps for Paramount+. The return of Yo! MTV Raps will include hosted segments, live performances, cyphers and lifestyle content, and will serve as a comprehensive deep dive into the current state of hip-hop. After its debut 33 years ago on August 6, 1988, Yo! MTV Raps became the premiere destination for all things hip-hop. The advent of the series was crucial to the rise of rap music worldwide, creating a global passion for the genre and greater hip-hop culture, which has since become the most dominant force in mainstream music and pop culture worldwide.

CBS All Access Originals to Continue as Paramount+ Originals

In addition to the forthcoming titles produced exclusively for Paramount+, the award-winning CBS All Access originals will rebrand to Paramount+ originals and continue to super-serve fans of:

• No Activity – a half-hour police comedy, starring Patrick Brammall and Tim Meadows, which was previously a live-action series, will be completely animated for season four.
• Star Trek: Discovery – the series, starring Sonequa Martin-Green, follows the voyages of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new life forms, and one Starfleet officer who must learn that to truly understand all things alien, you must first understand yourself.
• Star Trek: Lower Decks – a half-hour animated comedy series, focuses on the support crew on one of Starfleet’s least important ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, in 2380. Ensigns Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford and Tendi have to keep up with their duties and their social lives, often while the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies.
• Star Trek: Picard – features Patrick Stewart reprising his iconic role as Jean-Luc Picard, which he played for seven seasons on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The series follows this iconic character into the next chapter of his life.
• Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out the News – a daily news satire series featuring a cast of animated characters, led by anchor James Smartwood, lampooning real-world news stories and interviewing live-action guests.
• The Good Fight – the critically acclaimed drama starring Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart follows her next chapter at one of Chicago’s preeminent African-American law firms. The wide-ranging topicality of the series captures the current sociopolitical era as the firm confronts real life issues of today.
• Why Women Kill – a dark comedy created by Marc Cherry, is an anthology series that examines how the roles of women have changed over the decades, but how their reaction to betrayal… has not.

Sports

In bringing everything sports fans love on CBS to Paramount+, the service will feature over 1,000 live sporting events per year, including regular season games, playoffs, championships and more across the following marquee properties:

• THE NFL ON CBS
• The Masters
• NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship
• PGA TOUR
• SEC ON CBS
• The PGA Championship
• National Women’s Soccer League
• UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League – Paramount+ is the only place in the U.S. where soccer fans can find exclusive English-language coverage of every UEFA club competition match, every season.

In addition, Paramount+ is expanding its exclusive English-language rights in the U.S. with three more soccer properties, featuring hundreds of additional matches.

• Concacaf – offering more than 200 Concacaf matches, starting with the Concacaf Nations League Finals in June of this year, which will feature the U.S. Men’s National Team. Coverage will feature all 41 national teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean across different competitions, including the qualifiers for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, which will feature the defending champion U.S. Women’s National Team.
• Liga Profesional de Fútbol – Paramount+ will stream more than 300 matches a year from Argentina’s top soccer division.
• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A – Paramount+ will stream more than 360 matches a year from Brazil’s premier soccer league.

The service will also be the exclusive home of a long-running, Emmy® Award-winning original series Inside the NFL, which takes fans even deeper into the game and the passion of the NFL all season long. And knowing fans don’t stop watching when the players stop playing, Paramount+ will feature the 24/7 streaming sports news service, CBS Sports HQ.

News

With breaking news and impactful journalism, the award-winning CBS News team will offer Paramount+ subscribers deep insights into the world through best-in-class reporting. News offerings will include renowned CBS News programs, new series such as 60 Minutes+, live streams of local affiliates in over 200 markets across the U.S., and the 24-hour streaming news service CBSN.

In addition to news programs audiences already know and love, Paramount+ will be home to brand-new titles based on CBS News’ premier franchises, including:

• 60 Minutes+ – a compelling new version of the renowned newsmagazine and number one news program in America. Award-winning correspondents Enrique Acevedo, Seth Doane, Wes Lowery and Laurie Segall bring Paramount+ viewers a new perspective on the investigative reporting and exclusive newsmaker interviews that have made 60 Minutes must-watch television for generations.
• 48 Hours original: The Lie Detector – a Texas Ranger who for decades led the department’s investigations into its most twisted and high profile murder cases takes viewers behind the scenes of those crimes and into the minds of the people who committed them. The Lie Detector is a true crime docuseries from the Emmy® and Peabody Award-winning producers of 48 Hours in a new and compelling original format exclusively for Paramount+.

Documentaries

ViacomCBS is a definitive leader in storytelling, and audiences are increasingly hungry for shows that document history, from the distant past to history that’s being made today. Driven by these insights, Paramount+ is partnering with some of the world’s best filmmakers to debut an incredible slate of gripping, powerful and relevant documentaries, including the following from CBS News, CBSN, CBS Sports, MTV Documentary Films and the Smithsonian Channel:

• 76 Days – a look at life in the earliest days of the COVID-19 crisis in Wuhan, China, the Oscar Shortlisted 76 Days focuses on frontline hospital workers and their patients, bearing witness to the human resilience that persists in times of profound tragedy.
• Black Gold – from Oscar-nominated director Darren Aronofsky’s Protozoa and Emmy® Award-winning Time Studios, this is a true-life conspiracy thriller about a decades-long campaign to trade our planet for profit.
• For Heaven’s Sake – blends comedy and crime documentary formats for a unique take on uncovering the truth. The series follows the search for Harold Heaven, who mysteriously disappeared from his remote cabin in Ontario, Canada, in the winter of 1934.
• The Real Criminal Minds – a true crime docu series, featuring a former real FBI profiler. The series will examine real cases, and real criminal behavior, illustrated by clips fans will remember from the fictional series.
• Watergate – from MTV Entertainment Studios, this series will illuminate a moment in our history that parallels so much of what’s happening now.
• Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In – tells the story of the legendary manager of Manchester United, and one of the most memorable figures in European football.
• Stories from the Beautiful Game – an original soccer documentary series produced by Pete Radovich, the award-winning coordinating producer of CBS Sports’ UEFA coverage. Paramount+ will release several soccer documentaries every year, starting later in 2021.

In addition to long-lead productions, ViacomCBS will also produce exclusive Insta Docs for Paramount+. These instant documentaries will be released within days of breaking news and will dive deeper into events that capture the attention of the nation.

***

Paramount+ Pricing Tiers

Paramount+ will have two pricing tiers available to U.S. subscribers that marry the best of live and on-demand programming.

The premium tier, at $9.99, will be available with the full depth and breadth of live sports, around-the-clock news programming and world-class entertainment spanning Paramount+ originals to an expansive suite of current and library shows and movies. The offering will include CBS’ live linear feed and commercial-free on demand viewing, with 4k, HDR and Dolby Vision, mobile downloads and cross-platform dynamic play functionality.

An ad-supported tier will launch in June for $4.99 and offer the best in sports, news and entertainment. At that time, the current $5.99 plan will no longer be available for new users, but existing users will maintain grandfathered access. The ad-supported tier will feature a compelling offering of exciting Paramount+ originals, marquee sports content including live championship-level soccer and live NFL games, breaking news through CBSN and an extraordinary collection of content, including the full suite of current and library CBS shows available on demand.

Both Paramount+ tiers will feature a seamless user interface, enhanced curation and discovery, personalized homepages, content categories and central hubs for ViacomCBS’ brands. Additionally, each subscription option will include parental control capabilities and up to six individual profiles.

Broad Distribution

At launch, Paramount+ will be available online at ParamountPlus.com, via the Paramount+ app for iOS and Android, and across a wide number of platforms, including smart TVs, connected-TV devices, online, mobile, gaming consoles, and leading OTT providers.

Launch Sponsors

ViacomCBS is proud to present General Motors, Expedia and Procter & Gamble among a select group of leading launch sponsors for Paramount+ in the U.S. Through marketing integrations, custom activations and ViacomCBS’ suite of ad capabilities, these advertisers will have unparalleled access to leading brands, popular IP and premium digital video to deliver significant reach and impact across ViacomCBS’ highly engaged and diverse audiences.

International Rollout

Paramount+ will debut internationally in 18 Latin American countries and Canada on March 4, 2021, the Nordics on March 25, 2021 and Australia with a rebrand and expansion of 10 All Access later this year, with additional markets to follow.

With production capabilities across five continents, strong distribution agreements and local relationships and expertise around the world, Paramount+ will leverage ViacomCBS’ leading global reach – including the largest global broadcast footprint – to drive streaming growth and international expansion. ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) will build on its momentum in prized formats, and as one of the top global producers of Spanish-language content, to bring exclusive series to market for fans of kids and family, scripted dramas, reality and more.

In select international markets, Paramount+ will offer audiences exclusive originals that include The Man Who Fell to Earth, Mayor of Kingstown, Guilty Party, Halo and The Offer, among others, an expansive content library of over 5,000 hours of iconic ViacomCBS IP and hit franchises across genres and a premium user experience. For most international subscribers, Paramount+ will also be the home to SHOWTIME® and feature celebrated series Dexter, Ray Donovan, The Affair, Your Honor, The Comey Rule and Escape at Dannemora. And importantly, like in the U.S., internationally Paramount+ will offer some of the biggest kids franchises in the world, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Dora the Explorer and PAW Patrol – in addition to the highly anticipated Kamp Koral and Nickelodeon Animation Studio’s The Astronauts.

Premieres of prized formats including some of MTV’s biggest global reality franchises – such as Acapulco Shore and Are You The One?: Brazil in Latin America, as well as Story of Songs in the Nordics, and a deep catalogue of the best reality hits such as Jersey Shore, Ex on the Beach, Catfish and more – will be available in Latin America, the Nordics and Australia.

And, through ViacomCBS International Studios (VIS), a division of ViacomCBS Networks International, top creators from around the world will also debut premium local scripted dramas on the service. For example, in Latin America, the service will debut:

• The Envoys – a supernatural thriller co-produced with Academy Award-winning director and screenwriter, Juan José Campanella.
• Cecilia – a female-led dramedy from renowned Argentine writer and director Daniel Burman and starring acclaimed Mexican actress Mariana Treviño.

Subscription pricing will vary slightly by market, but Paramount+ will be available to international audiences at a compelling price point.

Internationally, Paramount+ will be available online at ParamountPlus.com, via the Paramount+ app for iOS and Android, and across a number of connected TV devices and OTT platforms. The service will also have broad distribution on major platforms in international markets, including Claro Video, Mercado Libre, Izzi & Claro Brazil in Latin America, and Nuuday, Telenor and Allente in the Nordics.

About ViacomCBS:

ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC; VIACA) is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide. Driven by iconic consumer brands, its portfolio includes CBS, Showtime Networks, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, CBS All Access, Pluto TV and Simon & Schuster, among others. The company delivers the largest share of the U.S. television audience and boasts one of the industry’s most important and extensive libraries of TV and film titles. In addition to offering innovative streaming services and digital video products, ViacomCBS provides powerful capabilities in production, distribution and advertising solutions for partners on five continents.

NEW YORK- Jan. 19, 2021– ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC, VIACA) announced today that its highly anticipated streaming service, Paramount+, will launch in the U.S. on Thursday, March 4, 2021.

ViacomCBS will also bring Paramount+ to international markets with initial debuts in Latin America on March 4, 2021; the Nordics on March 25, 2021; and Australia in mid-2021. The CBS All Access service in Canada will be rebranded to Paramount+ on March 4, 2021, and an expanded offering will be available later in the year.

Additionally, the company will host an investor event and issue fourth quarter and full year financial results for the period ending December 31, 2020 on Wednesday, February 24, 2021. The presentation will deliver a comprehensive overview of the company’s streaming strategy, including Paramount+, Pluto TV, and SHOWTIME® OTT.

A webcast of the ViacomCBS investor event can be accessed in the Events, Webcasts & Annual Meetings section of ViacomCBS’ Investors website (ir.viacomcbs.com) beginning at approximately 4:15 p.m. (ET), following the release of its earnings materials. Virtual doors open at 4:00 p.m. (ET) with early tune in encouraged prior to the start of the event.

The earnings release and materials will be accessible on the Investors home page of ViacomCBS’ website.

A replay of the investor event will be available in the Events, Webcasts & Annual Meetings section of the ViacomCBS’ Investors home page.

About ViacomCBS

ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC; VIACA) is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide. Driven by iconic consumer brands, its portfolio includes CBS, Showtime Networks, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, CBS All Access, Pluto TV and Simon & Schuster, among others. The company delivers the largest share of the U.S. television audience and boasts one of the industry’s most important and extensive libraries of TV and film titles. In addition to offering innovative streaming services and digital video products, ViacomCBS provides powerful capabilities in production, distribution and advertising solutions for partners on five continents.

LONDON & NEW YORK- As announced on the ViacomCBS Q2 Earnings call earlier today, ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI), a division of ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC), is launching a premium streaming service internationally, appealing to audiences of all ages with a competitively priced and super-sized selection of ‘must-see’ exclusives, premieres and box-sets from ViacomCBS’s much-loved entertainment brands.

The new SVOD service will start its international roll-out early in 2021, offering exclusive premieres of all new SHOWTIME series, including Halo and American Rust. CBS All Access originals will also premiere exclusively on the new service, such as Guilty Party and The Harper House. Building a bespoke content offering in select major territories from launch, the service will also combine movies from Paramount Pictures and premieres and box sets from Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and Paramount Network, as well as originals from ViacomCBS International Studios in some markets.

The new SVOD service will be available to on-demand audiences of all ages by combining blockbuster and classic movies, premium scripted series, kids, comedy and entertainment, reality and specialist factual content and will eventually aim to match or exceed other streaming services with a selection of thousands of hours of content in every market.

David Lynn, President and CEO of VCNI, commented, “Launching a super-sized premium streaming service will be a game-changer for ViacomCBS and can help us become as powerful a player in international streaming as we are in linear TV. We will market a world-class content offering at a very competitive price, and we’re convinced it will have significant appeal for audiences everywhere and strong growth potential in every market.”

Launch priority will be given in 2021 to fast-growing OTT markets where ViacomCBS has identified the opportunity to become a leader in paid-for streaming based on its competitive position. These include: Australia, where its existing 10 All Access service will be rebranded and significantly expanded; Latin America, including Argentina, Brazil and Mexico; and, the Nordic countries.

ViacomCBS will work with existing distribution partners, as well as new distributors, to market the service to their subscribers, as well as retailing the service D2C.

Making best use of ViacomCBS’s unrivalled TV and film libraries and its global original content pipelines, the service will utilize the technology and platform that powers CBS All Access. The roll-out will be executed using ViacomCBS’s existing international infrastructure, which spans offices in more than 30 countries, to improve cost-efficiency and allow investment to be focused on-screen.

Pierluigi Gazzolo, President, Streaming for VCNI, added: “With more than 200 million new streaming subscriptions due to come online internationally by 2025, we’re very confident we can build a meaningful subscriber base in the next few years. ViacomCBS is one of a very small handful of elite content companies with broad enough content pipelines and deep enough content libraries to lead in all segments of the video entertainment market.”

The international launch of the new streaming service will progress in parallel to the ongoing roll-out of ViacomCBS’s free streaming service, Pluto TV, which recently debuted across Spanish-speaking Latin America countries, following previous launches in the UK and Germany. Having enjoyed phenomenal early growth in Latin America, the service has plans to expand into Brazil and Spain by the end of 2020 and France and Italy in 2021.

ViacomCBS Networks International
ViacomCBS Networks International, a unit of ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC), comprises many of the world’s most iconic entertainment brands, including Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, Viacom 18, ViacomCBS International Studios, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, Paramount Network and Pluto TV. In addition to offering innovative streaming services and digital video products, ViacomCBS Networks International provides powerful capabilities in production, distribution and advertising solutions for partners on five continents and across more than 180 countries.

CBS Television Studios and the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) have reached an agreement on a multi-year partnership to develop and produce scripted, unscripted and documentary content for linear television networks and streaming platforms. The announcement was made today by George Cheeks, President and CEO of the CBS Entertainment Group, and Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200715005528/en/

As part of the agreement, CBS Television Studios’ creative leaders will work with the civil rights organization to establish a dedicated team of executives and infrastructure to acquire, develop and produce programming. The partnership will focus on producing premium content that expands the number of diverse voices contributing to an ever-evolving society, and by telling inclusive stories that increase the visibility and impact of Black artists in a growing media landscape.

The CBS/NAACP partnership includes a commitment to develop content for the CBS Television Network as well as the ability to sell programming to third-party platforms across the media landscape.

“An important way to diversify and grow our storytelling is to expand our horizons beyond the traditional studio-producer system,” said Cheeks. “There is no better partner than the NAACP – the preeminent civil rights organization in our country – to help us find, develop and tell these inclusive stories. “At the same time, this is a strategic opportunity for CBS to build upon as well as re-imagine our pipeline for existing and emerging creative talent.”

“In this moment of national awakening, the time has never been better to further tell stories of the African American experience,” said Johnson. “Programming and content have the power to shape perspectives and drive conversations around critical issues. This partnership with CBS allows us to bring compelling and important content to a broad audience.”

About CBS Television Studios:
CBS Television Studios is one of the industry’s leading suppliers of programming with more than 70 series currently in production across broadcast and cable networks, streaming services and other emerging platforms. The Studio’s expansive portfolio spans a diverse slate of commercially successful and critically acclaimed scripted programming, genre-defining franchises including the ever-growing “Star Trek” universe, award-winning late night and daytime talk shows, and an extensive library of iconic intellectual property.

About the NAACP:
Founded in 1909 in response to the ongoing violence against Black people around the country, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is the largest and most preeminent civil rights organization in the nation. We have over 2,200 units and branches across the nation, along with well over 2M activists. Our mission is to secure the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.

NEW YORK & BALTIMORE–Jun. 30, 2020– ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIACA, VIAC) and Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBGI), today announced a multi-year agreement to renew eight CBS network affiliations for Sinclair stations, including two top-50 market affiliates, KUTV in Salt Lake City, UT and KEYE-TV in Austin, TX. ViacomCBS also reached agreement to renew the affiliation of WTVH in Syracuse, NY to which Sinclair provides services. The 9 markets combined reach 3% of the U.S. audience, serving over 3 million television households.

Sinclair is one of the largest operators of CBS affiliates, reaching 8% of the U.S. and serving over 8 million households across 23 markets. Sinclair’s CBS affiliates will remain locally available to subscribers of CBS All Access, CBS’ digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, and will continue to be widely distributed across virtual and traditional multichannel video programming distributor platforms.

“We’re happy to have reached an agreement with Sinclair that includes several early renewals and enables us to continue serving millions of households with leading news, sports and entertainment programming,” said Ray Hopkins, President, U.S. Networks Distribution, ViacomCBS. “Sinclair is a great partner, and we look forward to our continued collaboration.”

Barry Faber, Sinclair’s President of Distribution and Network Relations, stated, “We are pleased to extend our affiliations for these stations with ViacomCBS. The CBS Network’s extremely popular sports, entertainment and news programming, together with the high-quality local news and other programming provided by Sinclair, positions these stations to continue to serve as an important marketing platform for advertisers, as well as to generate a growing distribution revenue stream.”

The agreement consists of renewals for CBS affiliates KUTV in Salt Lake City, UT; KEYE in Austin, TX; WGME in Portland, ME; WTVH in Syracuse, NY; KGAN in Cedar Rapids, IA; WSBT in South Bend, IN; KRCG in Columbia, MO; KHQA in Quincy, IL; and KTVO in Ottumwa, IA.

About ViacomCBS
ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC; VIACA) is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide. Driven by iconic consumer brands, its portfolio includes CBS, Showtime Networks, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, CBS All Access, Pluto TV and Simon & Schuster, among others. The company delivers the largest share of the U.S. television audience and boasts one of the industry’s most important and extensive libraries of TV and film titles. In addition to offering innovative streaming services and digital video products, ViacomCBS provides powerful capabilities in production, distribution and advertising solutions for partners on five continents.

About Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) is a diversified media company and leading provider of local sports and news. The Company owns and/or operates 23 regional sports network brands; owns, operates and/or provides services to 191 television stations in 89 markets; is a leading local news provider in the country; owns multiple national networks; and has TV stations affiliated with all the major broadcast networks. Sinclair’s content is delivered via multiple platforms, including over-the-air, multi-channel video program distributors, and digital platforms. The Company regularly uses its website as a key source of Company information which can be accessed at www.sbgi.net.

New York, NY — News Corp announced today that Dow Jones set new performance records in the third quarter of fiscal 2020, meeting a growing global need for fact-based reporting and high quality data and analysis.

“These Dow Jones numbers are vastly superior to those announced by The New York Times yesterday. Digital advertising increased by 25% at Dow Jones, while it fell during the same quarter by 8% at The New York Times. And while year-on-year profitability declined double digits at the NYT, it rose at Dow Jones, and was a key contributor to our News and Information segment’s 15% increase.  Revenue growth at Dow Jones in the quarter, at 5%, also outpaced the NYT’s 1% increase,” said Robert Thomson, Chief Executive of News Corp.  “The relative success of The Wall Street Journal shows the value to readers of trusted news analysis, of pithy, pertinent opinion writers, and of reporters who have the objective of being objective. The WSJ subscriber base and the MarketWatch audience are patently a platform for further growth, as the team has been able to upsell readers to Barron’s and to professional information products that are essential for business and higher yielding.”

News Corp’s announcement follows the naming of Almar Latour as the new Chief Executive Officer of Dow Jones and Publisher of The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Latour, who is currently Publisher for Barron’s Group at Dow Jones, will assume the role with the departure of William Lewis on May 15.

In the third quarter, Dow Jones set a new record of nearly 3.6 million total subscriptions across The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s Group, representing a 10% increase year-over-year, including a 20% increase in digital only growth.

As part of the company’s third quarter earnings report, News Corp also noted that The Wall Street Journal’s digital paid subscribers were up 15% year-over-year to more than two million, another record. Digital subscribers accounted for 73% of the Journal subscriber base for the third quarter.

In recent days, the Journal has reached approximately 3 million total subscribers for the first time, including 2.2 million digital only, which represents over 20% growth year-over-year.

According to internal metrics, unique visitors to The Wall Street Journal were up 74% year-over-year, while Barron’s saw a 163% jump in March alone.  MarketWatch’s unique visitors also rose exponentially, tripling to 90 million in March compared to March, 2019.

While information and reporting on the virus helped drive high subscriber counts and traffic, advertising revenue overall was impacted in late March, though digital advertising across Dow Jones rose 25% year-over-year for the third quarter, and accounted for 47% of Dow Jones’ total ad revenues in the quarter.  By comparison, The New York Times digital advertising revenues fell approximately 8% in the quarter.

Overall, Dow Jones revenues increased 5% in the third quarter, and above The New York Times at 1%.  Dow Jones, including its growing Professional Information Business, remains significantly more digital than The New York Times, with digital representing 68% of revenues in the third quarter.  Dow Jones profitability improved in the quarter, compared to decline at The New York Times, and was a major factor in News Corp’s News and Information Services segment EBITDA growth of 15% year over year.

News Corp also highlighted the continued double-digit revenue growth of Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, which grew 18% over the third quarter, as organizations ramp up to manage regulatory and reputational risk on a global scale.

Risk & Compliance is on track to approach approximately $160 million in revenues this fiscal year.  It is the main contributor to the growth of Dow Jones’s professional information business, which also includes Factiva and Dow Jones Newswires.

For more information about News Corp’s Q3 Earnings, click here.

About News Corp
News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) is a global, diversified media and information services company focused on creating and distributing authoritative and engaging content and other products and services. The company comprises businesses across a range of media, including: news and information services, subscription video services in Australia, book publishing and digital real estate services. Headquartered in New York, News Corp operates primarily in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, and its content and other products and services are distributed and consumed worldwide. More information is available at: http://www.newscorp.com.

About Dow Jones
Dow Jones is a global provider of news and business information, delivering content to consumers and organizations around the world across multiple formats, including print, digital, mobile and live events. Dow Jones has produced unrivaled quality content for more than 130 years and today has one of the world’s largest newsgathering operations globally. It produces leading publications and products including the flagship Wall Street Journal, America’s largest newspaper by paid circulation; Factiva, Barron’s, MarketWatch, Mansion Global, Financial News, Dow Jones Risk & Compliance and Dow Jones Newswires. Dow Jones is a division of News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV)

NEW YORK- ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIACA, VIAC) and Google today announced a comprehensive, multi-year distribution agreement to deliver more content from ViacomCBS’ leading portfolio of news, entertainment and sports networks for YouTube TV subscribers. In addition to featuring continued carriage of CBS broadcast stations, CBS Sports Network, Pop TV, Smithsonian Channel, and The CW, the expanded agreement introduces 14 ViacomCBS channels to the live TV and on-demand subscription service.

BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land and VH1 will launch on YouTube TV this summer, providing more than two million subscribers with access to some of the most popular cable brands. BET Her, MTV2, Nick Jr., NickToons, TeenNick and MTV Classic will also launch on YouTube TV at a later date.

The deal also includes a continued commitment to distribute ViacomCBS’ premium subscription services, including SHOWTIME, on YouTube TV, as well as an extended partnership on the broader YouTube platforms.

“We are thrilled to have reached an expanded agreement with YouTube TV that recognizes the full power of our newly combined portfolio as ViacomCBS,” said Ray Hopkins, President, U.S. Networks Distribution, ViacomCBS. “Google has been an excellent partner, and we look forward to bringing even more of our entertainment networks to YouTube TV subscribers for the first time.”

“We’re excited to launch ViacomCBS’ portfolio on YouTube TV this summer, ” said Lori Conkling, Global Head of Partnerships at YouTube TV. “Our expanded partnership delivers on our promise to offer a premium portfolio of content to our YouTube TV subscribers, as well as across the YouTube platforms.”

YouTube TV is a subscription streaming service that lets you watch live and on-demand TV from 70+ top networks through a simple and award-winning experience. It offers live & local sports, news, shows, movies, and more, and can be watched on any screen (phone, tablet, TV, computer). Membership comes with free unlimited cloud DVR storage space to record all your favorites, personalized watch recommendations, and a family plan with 6 accounts per household so the whole family can enjoy.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

About ViacomCBS
ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC; VIACA) is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide. Driven by iconic consumer brands, its portfolio includes CBS, Showtime Networks, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, CBS All Access, Pluto TV and Simon & Schuster, among others. The company delivers the largest share of the U.S. television audience and boasts one of the industry’s most important and extensive libraries of TV and film titles. In addition to offering innovative streaming services and digital video products, ViacomCBS provides powerful capabilities in production, distribution and advertising solutions for partners on five continents.

For more information about ViacomCBS, please visit www.viacbs.com and follow @ViacomCBS on social platforms.

About Google
Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Play, Chrome and YouTube, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely-known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.

Telefonica Chief Executive Officer, Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete, said, “Combining O2’s number one mobile business with Virgin Media’s superfast broadband network and entertainment services will be a game-changer in the U.K., at a time when demand for connectivity has never been greater or more critical. We are creating a strong competitor with significant scale and financial strength to invest in UK digital infrastructure and give millions of consumer, business and public sector customers more choice and value. This is a proud and exciting moment for our organisations, as we create a leading integrated communications provider in the U.K.”

Mike Fries, Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Global, said, “We couldn’t be more excited about this combination. Virgin Media has redefined broadband and entertainment in the U.K. with lightning fast speeds and the most innovative video platform. And O2 is widely recognized as the most reliable and admired mobile operator in the U.K., always putting the customer first. With Virgin Media and O2 together, the future of convergence is here today. We’ve seen the benefit of FMC first-hand in Belgium and the Netherlands. When the power of 5G meets 1 gig broadband, U.K. consumers and businesses will never look back. We’re committed to this market and are right behind the Government’s digital
and connectivity goals.”

Strategic Combination
Liberty Global plc (NASDAQ: LBTYA, LBTYB and LBTYK) and Telefonica SA (Madrid stock exchange: TEF) today announced an agreement to merge their operating businesses in the U.K. to form a 50:50 joint venture (the “JV”). The combination of Virgin Media and O2 will create a nationwide integrated communications provider with over 46 million video, broadband and mobile subscribers and £11 billion of revenue.

By combining Virgin Media’s market-leading v6 video service and giga-ready broadband network, together with O2’s best-in-class, 5G ready mobile propositions, U.K. consumers will enjoy the highestquality customer experience possible, with superior connectivity and entertainment both inside and outside the home. As a fully converged provider, the JV will provide more competition in the marketplace and choice for consumers.

In addition, the JV will become a leading challenger in the B2B space as the combination will accelerate the adoption of converged fixed-mobile services to Virgin Media’s and O2’s existing business customers and offer new services using both companies’ digital skills, networks and product portfolios, such as cloud, big data, Internet of Things and cybersecurity services. This will ensure sustainable competition in the small, medium and large business segments across the U.K., which will benefit the overall British economy.

Financial Profile of the Joint Venture5
Telefonica and Liberty Global will ensure that the JV will benefit from the scale and complementary expertise of each partner. To accomplish that objective, the parties have agreed to provide a suite of services to the JV after closing. These services will principally consist of IT and technology-related services, procurement, brand management and other support services. The annual charges to the JV will ultimately depend on the actual level of services required by the JV.

NEW YORK & PHILADELPHIA – ViacomCBS and Comcast Corporation announced today the companies have renewed their content carriage agreement that includes continued retransmission consent of 23 CBS-owned television stations in 15 major markets across the country, including CBS-owned The CW affiliates, as well as distribution of the popular entertainment and sports channels SHOWTIME®, Smithsonian Channel™, Pop TV and CBS Sports Network to Xfinity customers.

In addition, CBS All Access, CBS’ digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, will be available on Comcast’s Xfinity X1 and Flex platforms later this year. This will mark the first time CBS will make the CBS All Access app available on an MVPD-based set-top box.

“We are very pleased to have reached this agreement to continue to bring CBS’ industry-leading entertainment, sports and news content from the CBS Television Network, SHOWTIME, Smithsonian Channel, Pop TV and CBS Sports Network to millions of Xfinity customers, and delighted to offer these customers access via X1 and Flex to CBS All Access for the first time,” said Ray Hopkins, President, U.S. Networks Distribution, ViacomCBS Inc. “We look forward to discussing the entire ViacomCBS portfolio with Comcast in the future.”

“ViacomCBS has been a great partner, and we are very pleased to have reached this agreement to provide Xfinity X1 and Flex customers with more access to their content across multiple platforms,” said Rebecca Heap, Senior Vice President, Video and Entertainment, Comcast Cable.

The agreement also includes TV Everywhere availability of programming from CBS Television Network and CBS Sports Network to Xfinity customers, who will be able to enjoy live authenticated streaming on CBS.com, the CBS app and Comcast’s authenticated platform Xfinity Stream. Pop TV and content from Smithsonian Channel have previously been available to stream via Comcast’s authenticated platforms. In addition, the authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME® will continue to provide Xfinity SHOWTIME subscribers with unlimited access to acclaimed original series, hit movies, sports, documentaries, specials and much more online and on mobile devices.

CBS-owned stations in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, Miami, Denver, Sacramento, Pittsburgh and Baltimore, as well as CBS-owned The CW affiliates in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Atlanta, Tampa, Seattle, Detroit, Sacramento, Pittsburgh and Baltimore, will continue to be distributed to Xfinity customers.
In addition, two MyNetwork affiliates will be available in Boston and Miami and the CBS-owned independent station will be available in New York.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with three primary businesses: Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal, and Sky. Comcast Cable is one of the United States’ largest high-speed internet, video, and phone providers to residential customers under the Xfinity brand, and also provides these services to businesses. It also provides wireless and security and automation services to residential customers under the Xfinity brand. NBCUniversal is global and operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks and Resorts. Sky is one of Europe’s leading media and entertainment companies, connecting customers to a broad range of video content through its pay television services. It also provides communications services, including residential high-speed internet, phone, and wireless services. Sky operates the Sky News broadcast network and sports and entertainment networks, produces original content, and has exclusive content rights. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

About ViacomCBS
ViacomCBS (Nasdaq: VIAC; VIACA) is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide. Driven by iconic consumer brands, its portfolio includes CBS, Showtime Networks, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, CBS All Access, Pluto TV and Simon & Schuster, among others. The company delivers the largest share of the U.S. television audience and boasts one of the industry’s most important and extensive libraries of TV and film titles. In addition to offering innovative streaming services and digital video products, ViacomCBS provides powerful capabilities in production, distribution and advertising solutions for partners on five continents. For more information about ViacomCBS, please visit www.viacbs.com and follow @ViacomCBS on social platforms.

NEW YORK – ViacomCBS Inc. (Nasdaq: VIACA, VIAC) (“ViacomCBS”) today announced the completion of the merger between CBS Corporation and Viacom Inc. The combined company, which is renamed ViacomCBS, creates a premium content powerhouse with global scale, including leadership positions in markets across the U.S., Europe, Latin America and Asia.

“This is a historic moment that brings together two iconic companies to form one of the world’s most important content producers and providers,” said Bob Bakish, President and Chief Executive Officer of ViacomCBS. “Through the combination of CBS’s and Viacom’s complementary assets, capabilities and talented teams, ViacomCBS will create and deliver premium content for its own platforms and for others, while providing innovative solutions for advertisers and distributors globally. I am excited about the opportunity we have to serve our audiences, creative and commercial partners, and employees, while generating significant long-term value for our shareholders.”

Building on an extraordinary collection of culture-defining franchises and partnerships with creative talent around the world, ViacomCBS will be home to more than 140,000 premium TV episodes and 3,600 film titles, with global production capabilities and more than $13 billion in annual content investment. The company will account for 22% of TV viewership in the U.S. and hold the highest share of broadcast and cable viewing across key audience demographics, with strength in all categories, including News, Sports, General Entertainment, Pop Culture, Comedy, Music and Kids.

Through the strength and scale of these assets, ViacomCBS will be well-equipped to maximize the value of its content for its own platforms and for others, as it meets the growing global demand for third-party premium content. The company’s content scale will support a robust streaming strategy, including ViacomCBS’s own suite of advertising and subscription-based offerings. In addition, the company’s broad reach, extensive intellectual property portfolio and expertise in advanced marketing solutions will enable it to strengthen its partnerships with distributors and advertisers globally.

ViacomCBS Class A and Class B shares will begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on December 5, 2019 under the ticker symbols “VIACA” and “VIAC”, respectively.
As previously announced, as a result of the merger, each Viacom Class A share and Viacom Class B share converted into 0.59625 of a Class A share and Class B share of ViacomCBS, respectively. Holders of CBS Class A shares and CBS Class B shares will continue to own their existing shares, which are now shares of ViacomCBS.

ViacomCBS will have an attractive growth outlook, be positioned to deliver beneficial cost and revenue synergies and generate substantial free cash flow. This will sustain significant investment in programming and innovation, as well as support ViacomCBS’s commitment to a modest dividend payment. ViacomCBS will also benefit from a strong balance sheet, solid investment grade rating and a board and management team that are focused on creating shareholder value.
About ViacomCBS

ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC; VIACA) is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide. Driven by iconic consumer brands, its portfolio includes CBS, Showtime Networks, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, CBS All Access, Pluto TV and Simon & Schuster, among others. The company delivers the largest share of the U.S. television audience and boasts one of the industry’s most important and extensive libraries of TV and film titles. In addition to offering innovative streaming services and digital video products, ViacomCBS provides powerful capabilities in production, distribution and advertising solutions for partners on five continents.

NEW YORK–Nov. 11, 2019– CBS (NYSE: CBS.A, CBS) and Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA) today announced senior appointments for ViacomCBS’ content and digital leadership. These appointments, which will be effective upon closing, will enable ViacomCBS to deliver on its distinct competitive position as one of the most important content producers and providers in the world.

Content Leaders
ViacomCBS will have a portfolio of powerful consumer brands and one of the largest libraries of iconic intellectual property, spanning every genre and appealing to consumers of all ages and demographics. The combined company’s library will comprise 140,000+ premium TV episodes and 3,600+ film titles, including fan favorites such as Star Trek and Mission: Impossible. ViacomCBS will also have more than 750 series ordered or in production, as well as a major Hollywood film studio, Paramount Pictures. The combined company will have a content spend of more than $13 billion – one of the largest in the industry.

“ViacomCBS will be one of the largest premium content creators in the world, with the capacity to produce content for both our own platforms and for others,” said Bob Bakish, President and Chief Executive Officer, Viacom, who will serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of ViacomCBS upon close. “This talented team of content leaders will work together to ensure we realize the full power of our brands, our deep relationships with the creative community and our intellectual property to drive our growth as a combined company.”

Following are ViacomCBS’ content leaders, who will manage the creative and business operations of the company’s brands and help assess how best to distribute programming – including across both owned and third-party linear and digital platforms – based on brand filters and other criteria:

Jim Gianopuloswill oversee Filmed Entertainment, continuing as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Pictures, a role that includes oversight of Paramount Animation, Paramount Features, Paramount Players and Paramount TV.

Chris McCarthy, President of MTV, VH1, CMT and Logo, will serve as President of Entertainment & Youth Brands, ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks – adding Comedy Central, Paramount Network, Smithsonian Channel and TV Land brands and their respective content studios to his current portfolio of MTV, VH1, CMT and Logo.

David Nevins, Chief Creative Officer, CBS, and Chairman and CEO, Showtime Networks, will oversee CBS Television Studios, the CBS Television Network’s Entertainment division, the Showtime Networks and Pop, as well as the programming of CBS All Access. He will also have oversight of CBS’ interest in The CW, a joint venture between CBS and Warner Bros. Entertainment. In addition, Nevins will oversee BET, which will continue to be led by Scott Mills as President of BET.

Carolyn Kroll Reidywill lead the company’s publishing assets, continuing in her role as President and Chief Executive Officer of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Brian Robbins, President of Nickelodeon, will oversee the company’s kids and young adult-focused offerings as President, Kids & Family Entertainment, ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks. In addition to Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Nick Jr., TeenNick, Nicktoons and Nickelodeon Studios, he will now oversee Awesomeness, which he co-founded and was acquired by Viacom in 2018.

Joe Ianniello, as previously announced, will serve as Chairman and CEO of CBS, overseeing CBS-branded assets such as the CBS Television Network (including CBS Entertainment, CBS News, and CBS Sports), CBS Television Studios, CBS Interactive (including CBS All Access) and CBS Television Stations.

ViacomCBS will also form a new Content Council, comprising the content leaders across the company and chaired by Nevins, to ensure these leaders and other senior executives are working together to maximize the use of IP and talent relationships across the combined company.

Digital Leaders
ViacomCBS’ portfolio of leading streaming assets will include CBS All Access and Showtime, which deliver premium, branded content live and on demand to millions of subscribers; Pluto TV, the leading free, advertising-supported streaming TV service in the U.S.; and targeted niche products such as BET+, CBSN, CBS Sports HQ, ET Live and Noggin.

“Our content scale will support our streaming strategy, which will build on the rapidly scaling advertising and subscription-based products we already have in the market,” Bakish said. “The executives we announced today bring complementary and deep experience in both subscription and ad-supported streaming businesses, and will work together to create a differentiated streaming ecosystem in the market.”

The following are ViacomCBS’ digital leaders, who will collaborate with the company’s content leaders to grow the company’s already expansive digital businesses and footprint and drive an integrated streaming strategy, taking advantage of the breadth and depth of ViacomCBS’ combined content portfolio and global infrastructure:

Marc DeBevoise, President and COO, CBS Interactive, will serve as Chief Digital Officer, ViacomCBS, and President and CEO, CBS Interactive. As such, he will provide overall leadership for the combined company’s technology and digital operations across its broad range of digital assets, including its subscription, live and vertical ad-supported direct-to-consumer streaming services and major internet properties. His team will also be responsible for Viacom Digital Studios as well as its partnerships with technology, digital video and social platforms. In addition, he will continue to lead CBS Interactive and its digital businesses, including those of the CBS Television Network and CNET Media Group and its portfolio of streaming services including CBS All Access, CBSN, CBS Sports HQ and ET Live.

Kelly Day, President, Viacom Digital Studios, will continue to lead the digital content strategy and initiative to create and expand original programming and branded content across leading and emerging social platforms. In this role, reporting to DeBevoise, she will look to expand this initiative from brands including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and BET across the combined company’s content portfolio.

Phil Wiser, Chief Technology Officer, CBS, will serve as Chief Technology Officer for the combined company, reporting to DeBevoise. As CTO, he will be responsible for the global technology strategy, shared services, operations and transformation for ViacomCBS.

Tom Ryan, CEO and Co-Founder of Pluto TV, will continue to lead Pluto TV, which delivers more than 200 live and original channels and thousands of on-demand movies in partnership with 170 TV networks, movie studios, publishers and digital media companies, including Viacom and CBS. In this role, Tom will oversee all facets of the company’s business, continuing to guide it both strategically and operationally through its rapid growth. In addition to further scaling the platform in the U.S. and extending the company’s category lead domestically, he will work closely with the ViacomCBS Networks International team on Pluto TV’s global expansion, including its continued European growth as well as its upcoming launch across Latin America.
The merger remains subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close by early December.

Biographies
Jim Gianopuloshas served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Pictures since August 2017. In his role as Chairman and CEO of Paramount, he oversees the studio’s film and television operations worldwide, including production, marketing, distribution and all other facets. He is also charged with setting a strategy for Paramount, including developing new content, strengthening Paramount’s slate with co-branded releases from Viacom flagship brands, and expanding the studio’s global footprint. Gianopulos has been a leading figure in the global entertainment industry for more than 30 years. For 16 years, he served as Chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment, overseeing Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox International Productions and Twentieth Century Fox Animation/Blue Sky Studios. Previously, Gianopulos served as President of 20th Century Fox International. Prior to joining the company, he held senior positions at Columbia Pictures and Paramount. He began his career as an attorney specializing in entertainment law.

Chris McCarthy, President of MTV, VH1, CMT and Logo, is known for his successful track record in transforming businesses and creating cultural hits. After being named President of MTV in October 2016, McCarthy quickly returned the brand to #1 with young audiences, reaching more people across cable, social, streaming and events than any other brand. Prior to MTV, McCarthy led VH1’s reinvention driving it to record growth. Creating cultural hits are at the center of both brands’ strategy, evidenced by having 8 of the top 10 and 15 of the top 25 shows. McCarthy credits his success to strong leaders and collaborative teams who embrace a culture of “creativity drives everything we do.” McCarthy joined Viacom in 2004 as a freelancer and rose up the ranks holding various positions of responsibility from marketing, strategy, operations and development. The recipient of multiple Emmy Awards and a Peabody, McCarthy earned an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Commerce and Engineering from Drexel University.

David Nevins has served as CBS’ Chief Creative Officer and Chairman and CEO of Showtime Networks Inc. since October 2018, overseeing programming, marketing and research across CBS Television Studios, the CBS Television Network’s Entertainment division, Showtime Networks, and programming for CBS All Access, as well as The CW, a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment. As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Showtime Networks Inc., Nevins oversees all aspects of Showtime Networks Inc. and its channels, including programming, distribution, business development, finance, marketing, creative, digital media, scheduling, research, acquisitions, network operations, home entertainment, business affairs and corporate communications teams, as well as SHOWTIME Sports®. He works closely with CBS Corporation’s international and domestic distribution groups on the monetization of Showtime Networks content around the world. Prior to joining Showtime in 2010 as Entertainment President, Nevins was an Emmy Award-winning producer and network programming executive, including President of Imagine Television; Executive Vice President of Programming at Fox Broadcasting Company; and Senior Vice President, Primetime Series at NBC.

Carolyn Kroll Reidy became President and Chief Executive Officer of Simon & Schuster, Inc. in January 2008. In this role, she is responsible for all the publishing and operations of Simon & Schuster’s numerous publishing groups as well as its international companies in Australia, Canada, India and the United Kingdom. Under her leadership, Simon & Schuster has taken an industry-leading position in bringing its works to consumers using new digital formats and distribution capabilities, including ebooks and digital audio. Reidy has also led the company’s expansion into new territories, with the founding in 2011 of Simon & Schuster India, while making numerous strategic moves that have added to its portfolio and ensure its presence in every segment of the publishing marketplace. Reidy first joined Simon & Schuster in 1992 as President of the Trade Division, before being named President of the Adult Publishing Group in 2001. Prior to Simon & Schuster, Reidy was President and Publisher of Avon Books, after having worked at William Morrow and Random House, where she was Publisher of Vintage Books and Associate Publisher of the Random House imprint. Reidy has been named one of “The 50 Women to Watch,” by the Wall Street Journal, and is a recipient of the Matrix Award from the New York Women in Communications. She is a graduate of Middlebury College, and holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in English from Indiana University, where in 2011 she was recipient of the university’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

Brian Robbins has served as President of Nickelodeon since October 2018, overseeing the company’s creative and business operations and helping to evolve the brand for a new generation of young audiences. Previously, he served as President of Paramount Pictures’ Paramount Players division, where he worked closely with Nickelodeon and Viacom’s other brands to identify talent and properties to be developed into co-branded feature films. Robbins co-founded the multi-platform media company Awesomeness in 2012 and served as Chief Executive Officer. He also co-founded the production company Tollins/Robbins Productions and was the Founder and President of Varsity Pictures. In this role, he executive produced numerous television hits for teens and young audiences, including the popular Nickelodeon series Kenan and Kel and All That, the latter of which Robbins adapted into the Nickelodeon feature film Good Burger. Robbins also executive produced Blue Mountain Statefor Spike TV (now Paramount Network) and produced and/or directed the Paramount films Varsity Blues, Coach Carter and Hardball. His other credits include the television series Smallville and One Tree Hill for CW, and Disney Channel’s Sonny with a Chance and So Random. His film credits include Disney’s Wild Hogs and The Shaggy Dog; DreamWorks’ Norbitand A Thousand Words; and Sony Pictures’ Radio. Robbins began his career as an actor, writer and producer, and has received the Directors Guild Award, a Peabody Award, the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ Pioneer Prize.

Marc DeBevoise has served as President and Chief Operating Officer of CBS Interactive since 2016 and has also held other executive roles at CBS Interactive, including EVP and GM of CBS Digital Media and SVP and GM CBS Entertainment Digital. Earlier in his career he was the SVP of Digital Media, Business Development and Strategy for premium subscription service Starz, held various roles in both Digital Media and Business Development at NBC Universal and was in the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Investment Banking Group at JPMorgan. DeBevoise received his M.B.A. with distinction in Entertainment, Media & Technology and Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business and his B.A. in Economics and Computer Science from Tufts University. He is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, a board member of Limelight Networks (NASDAQ: LLNW), a leading provider of edge cloud services, and the Board President of The Door, a non-profit organization providing youth development services.

Kelly Day has served as the President of Viacom Digital Studios since November 2017, overseeing Viacom’s digital strategy, including the expansion of Viacom’s original programming across the leading online video and social media platforms. Under her leadership, Viacom reached new heights in audience engagement, becoming one of the top 5 properties in media and entertainment. She previously served as the Chief Business Officer and Chief Digital Officer of multi-platform media company Awesomeness, where she was responsible for international expansion, global distribution strategies and revenue across television, mobile and OTT providers, also driving the company’s product and technology investments. Prior to joining Awesomeness, she served as CEO of venture-backed company Blip Networks, prior to its acquisition by Maker Studios, and also led various digital and e-commerce businesses at media and entertainment companies, including Discovery Communications, The Knot, and AOL. Day has advised several media and technology start-ups and she currently serves on the Board of Directors for Blue Ant Media and NATPE.

Phil Wiser has been Chief Technology Officer of CBS since 2018. Prior to CBS, Wiser was chief technology officer at Hearst. Wiser worked across the portfolio of Hearst businesses including cable networks such as ESPN and A&E, more than 30 broadcast television stations, magazines, newspapers and digital media brands. Before joining Hearst, Wiser was chairman and president of Sezmi Corporation, a technology company he founded in 2006 that pioneered the delivery of Internet television subscriptions. Wiser was chief technology officer at Sony Corporation of America. Prior to Sony, he built the one of the earliest online music distribution platforms as the founder of Liquid Audio, where he was chief technology officer. Wiser graduated from Stanford University with a master’s degree in electrical engineering, and he graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a bachelor’s degree in the same field, summa cum laude. Wiser serves on the board of trustees at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, and the board of visitors at Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland.

Tom Ryan has served the CEO and Co-Founder of Pluto TV since early 2014. Under his leadership, Pluto TV became the leading free streaming TV service in the U.S. with more than 18 million monthly active users tuning into over 200 live channels and thousands of on-demand movies and TV shows. He also led Pluto TV through its successful acquisition by Viacom in January 2019. Earlier in his career, Tom served as CEO of Threadless, an online art community and e-commerce company, from 2008 to 2012. Previously he was Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy and Business Development at EMI Music and was part of the early team at Virgin Mobile USA. Tom also co-founded Cductive, a pioneering online music service, which was merged with eMusic in 1999.

About CBS
CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) is a mass media company that creates and distributes industry-leading content across a variety of platforms to audiences around the world. The Company has businesses with origins that date back to the dawn of the broadcasting age as well as new ventures that operate on the leading edge of media. CBS owns the most-watched television network in the U.S. and one of the world’s largest libraries of entertainment content, making its brand –”the Eye” – one of the most-recognized in business. The Company’s operations span virtually every field of media and entertainment, including cable, publishing, local TV, film and interactive. CBS’ businesses include CBS Television Network, The CW (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), Network 10 Australia, CBS Television Studios, CBS Global Distribution Group, CBS Consumer Products, CBS Home Entertainment, CBS Interactive, CBS All Access, the Company’s direct-to-consumer digital streaming subscription service, CBS Sports Network, CBS Films, Showtime Networks, Pop, Smithsonian Networks, Simon & Schuster, CBS Television Stations and CBS Experiences. For more information, go to http://www.cbscorporation.com.

About Viacom
Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA) creates entertainment experiences that drive conversation and culture around the world. Through television, film, digital media, live events, merchandise and solutions, its brands connect with diverse, young and young at heart audiences in more than 180 countries.
For more information on Viacom and its businesses, visit http://www.viacom.com. Keep up with Viacom news by following it on Twitter (twitter.com/Viacom), Facebook (facebook.com/Viacom) and LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/Viacom).

NEW YORK – CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS.A, CBS) and Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), two of the world’s leading entertainment companies, today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock merger, creating a combined company with more than $28 billion in revenue.

The combined company, ViacomCBS Inc., will be a leading global, multiplatform, premium content company, with the assets, capabilities and scale to be one of the most important content producers and providers in the world. The combined company will be a scale player globally, with leadership positions in markets across the U.S., Europe, Latin America and Asia. This includes the largest television business in the U.S., with the highest share of broadcast and cable viewing across all key audience demographics, and strength in every key category, including News, Sports, General Entertainment, Pop Culture, Comedy, Music and Kids – making it a first-choice partner to distributors and advertisers. In addition, the combined company will possess a portfolio of fast-growing direct-to-consumer platforms, including both subscription and ad-supported offerings. It will also include a major Hollywood film studio, Paramount Pictures, which has been a producer and global distributor of filmed entertainment for more than a century and continues to be a global box office driver. Taken together, these distinct strengths will accelerate CBS and Viacom’s ability to deliver an array of compelling content to important and diverse audiences across both traditional and emerging platforms around the world.

Bob Bakish, President and Chief Executive Officer, Viacom, will become President and Chief Executive Officer of the combined company. Bakish said: “Today marks an important day for CBS and Viacom, as we unite our complementary assets and capabilities and become one of only a few companies with the breadth and depth of content and reach to shape the future of our industry. Our unique ability to produce premium and popular content for global audiences at scale – for our own platforms and for our partners around the world – will enable us to maximize our business for today, while positioning us to lead for years to come. As we look to the future, I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities ahead for the combined company and all of our stakeholders – including consumers, the creative community, commercial partners, employees and, of course, our shareholders.”

Joe Ianniello, President and Acting Chief Executive Officer, CBS, will become Chairman and CEO of CBS. Ianniello, who will oversee all CBS-branded assets in his new role, said: “This merger brings an exciting new set of opportunities to both companies. At CBS, we have outstanding momentum right now – creatively and operationally – and Viacom’s portfolio will help accelerate that progress. I look forward to all we will do together as we build on our ongoing success. And personally, I am pleased to remain focused on CBS’s top priority – continuing our transformation into a global, multiplatform, premium content company.”

Shari Redstone, Vice Chair of the Boards of Directors, CBS and Viacom, said: “I am really excited to see these two great companies come together so that they can realize the incredible power of their combined assets. My father once said ‘content is king,’ and never has that been more true than today. Through CBS and Viacom’s shared passion for premium content and innovation, we will establish a world-class, multiplatform media organization that is well-positioned for growth in a rapidly transforming industry. Led by a talented leadership team that is excited by the future, ViacomCBS’s success will be underpinned by a commitment to strong values and a culture that empowers our exceptional people at all levels of the organization.”

Strategic Rationale
Premium content at scale. The combined company will possess a portfolio of powerful consumer brands, including CBS, Showtime, Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, Comedy Central and Paramount Network, as well as one of the largest libraries of iconic intellectual property, spanning every key genre and addressing consumers of all ages and demographics. This library comprises 140,000+ TV episodes and 3,600+ film titles, and reunites fan-favorite franchises such as Star Trek and Mission: Impossible. The combined company will also have more than 750 series currently ordered to or in production. In addition, it will include a major Hollywood film studio, Paramount Pictures, which creates and distributes feature-length entertainment around the world. The combined company will also be one of the largest content spenders, with more than $13 billion spent in the last 12 months.

Global leadership positions. The combined company will be a broadcast and cable leader in key markets around the world, reaching more than 4.3 billion cumulative TV subscribers. In the U.S., the combined company’s portfolio of broadcast, premium and cable networks will have the highest share of viewing on television among key audiences, including Kids, African Americans and Hispanic viewers. In addition, the combined company will operate strong broadcast networks in the UK, Argentina and Australia, as well as pay-TV networks across more than 180 countries. It will also have significant global production capabilities across five continents – creating content in 45 languages.

Powerful, three-part strategy for growth. In a quickly evolving media landscape, the combined company will benefit from its distinct competitive position as one of the most important global content providers – for its own platforms as well as for third parties. This will enable the combined company to accelerate the growth of its direct-to-consumer strategy, enhance distribution and advertising opportunities and create a leading producer and licensor of premium content to third-party platforms globally.

1.
Accelerate direct-to-consumer strategy. Together, the combined company will be positioned to accelerate and expand its direct-to-consumer strategy through its proven and diverse portfolio of both subscription and ad-supported offerings. These include CBS All Access and Showtime, which deliver premium, branded content live and on demand to millions of subscribers; Pluto TV, the leading free streaming TV service in the U.S.; and niche products such as CBSN, ET Live and Noggin. It also has an opportunity to expand globally by leveraging its existing strength in both subscription and ad-supported offerings, combined library, content production capabilities and international infrastructure.

2.
Enhance distribution and advertising opportunities. The breadth and depth of the combined company’s reach across both traditional and new platforms – including 22% of U.S. TV viewership – will drive important new distribution and advertising opportunities. For distributors, this includes forming more expansive and multifaceted relationships, and applying the benefit of retransmission consent across a combined portfolio. For advertisers and agencies, the combined company will provide industry-leading reach through a variety of formats, including a portfolio of differentiated advanced advertising and marketing solutions, such as CBS Interactive, Viacom Vantage and Viacom Velocity, which will be applied against significant, expanded inventory across the portfolio.

3.
Create a leading producer and licensor of premium content to third-party platforms globally. As one of the biggest premium content providers in the world, the combined company is positioned to deliver content to a diverse global customer base that includes MVPDs, broadcast and cable networks, subscription and ad-supported streaming services, mobile providers and social platforms. Notably, in addition to content licensing, CBS and Viacom are developing must-watch programming for a broad range of third-party networks and platforms to feed significant demand for original, premium content.

Significant value for all shareholders. The combined company will have an attractive growth outlook and increased financial scale with substantial free cash flow, which will enable significant and sustained investment in programming and innovation, as well as support the combined company’s commitment to maintaining a modest dividend payment. The transaction will be EPS accretive and is expected to deliver an estimated $500 million in annualized run-rate synergies within 12-24 months following closing, with additional strategic benefits. With one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry, the combined company will benefit from a solid investment grade rating.

Leadership, Governance and Transaction Terms
In addition to Bakish and Ianniello, the leadership team of the combined company will include Christina Spade as EVP and Chief Financial Officer; and Christa D’Alimonte as EVP, General Counsel and Secretary.

The Board of Directors will consist of 13 members: six independent members from CBS, four independent members from Viacom, the President and CEO of ViacomCBS and two National Amusements, Inc. (NAI) designees. Shari Redstone will be appointed Chair.

The merger agreement was approved by the Boards of Directors of both CBS and Viacom by unanimous vote of those present, upon the unanimous recommendations of the Special Committees of the CBS and Viacom Boards of Directors, respectively. Existing CBS shareholders will own approximately 61% of the combined company and existing Viacom shareholders will own approximately 39% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis. Under the terms of the merger agreement, each Viacom Class A voting share and Viacom Class B non-voting share will convert into 0.59625 of a Class A voting share and Class B non-voting share of CBS, respectively.

NAI, which holds approximately 78.9% and 79.8% of the Class A voting shares of CBS and Viacom, respectively, has agreed to deliver consents sufficient to assure approval of the transaction. More than two-thirds of the CBS directors unaffiliated with NAI (and all of those unaffiliated directors who voted on the transaction) have approved the transaction, as required in order to permit NAI to consent to the transaction under the terms of the 2018 settlement agreement entered into among CBS, NAI and certain other parties thereto.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. It is expected to close by the 2019 calendar year end.

The Special Committee of CBS’s Board of Directors is being advised by Centerview Partners LLC and Lazard Frères & Co. LLC as its financial advisors and by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP as its legal counsel. The Special Committee of Viacom’s Board of Directors is being advised by LionTree Advisors LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC as its financial advisors and by Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP as its legal counsel. Viacom is being advised by Shearman & Sterling LLP. NAI is being advised by Evercore as its financial advisor and by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP as its legal counsel.

About CBS
CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) is a mass media company that creates and distributes industry-leading content across a variety of platforms to audiences around the world. The Company has businesses with origins that date back to the dawn of the broadcasting age as well as new ventures that operate on the leading edge of media. CBS owns the most-watched television network in the U.S. and one of the world’s largest libraries of entertainment content, making its brand –”the Eye” – one of the most-recognized in business. The Company’s operations span virtually every field of media and entertainment, including cable, publishing, local TV, film and interactive. CBS’ businesses include CBS Television Network, The CW (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), Network 10 Australia, CBS Television Studios, CBS Global Distribution Group, CBS Consumer Products, CBS Home Entertainment, CBS Interactive, CBS All Access, the Company’s direct-to-consumer digital streaming subscription service, CBS Sports Network, CBS Films, Showtime Networks, Pop, Smithsonian Networks, Simon & Schuster, CBS Television Stations and CBS Experiences. For more information, go to http://www.cbscorporation.com.

About Viacom
Viacom creates entertainment experiences that drive conversation and culture around the world. Through television, film, digital media, live events, merchandise and solutions, its brands connect with diverse, young and young at heart audiences in more than 180 countries.

NEW YORK, NY AND MCLEAN, VA – New Media Investment Group Inc. (“New Media”) (NYSE: NEWM) and Gannett Co., Inc. (“Gannett”) (NYSE: GCI) announced today that New Media and Gannett have entered into a definitive agreement (the “Merger Agreement”) pursuant to which New Media will acquire Gannett for a combination of cash and stock (the “Merger”).

Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, shareholders of Gannett will receive $6.25 in cash and 0.5427 of a New Media share for each Gannett share they hold, representing total consideration of $12.06 per Gannett common share based on New Media’s closing stock price as of August 2, 2019, and a premium of approximately 18% to the five-day volume-weighted average price of Gannett shares as of that date. After the close of the transaction, Gannett shareholders will hold approximately 49.5% of the combined company and New Media shareholders will hold approximately 50.5%.
The Merger brings together the portfolios of two leading local newspaper companies, and includes USA TODAY, Gannett’s flagship brand, and its more than 160 brands in the U.K., which will significantly expand the existing USA TODAY NETWORK. This combination will create a broad network of talented, experienced journalists poised to deliver unique and award-winning content for local communities and national audiences.

The breadth and depth of each company’s digital offerings will make the combined company a leading digital media player. Additionally, the joining of New Media’s UpCurve and GateHouse Live businesses with Gannett’s ReachLocal and WordStream subsidiaries will provide multiple, diversified marketing and revenue solutions and position the combined company as a stronger partner for advertisers and small businesses (“SMBs”) in the markets served.

With strategically-aligned leadership and significant scale of operations, the Merger will accelerate the combined company’s digital transformation. The Merger also affords an opportunity to realize run-rate cost synergies of $275 – $300 million annually across the combined company in a judicious manner, while continuing to invest in newsrooms.

“We believe this transaction will create value for our shareholders, greater opportunities for our employees, and a stronger future for journalism. Gannett is an innovative, digitally-focused media and marketing solutions company with well-known brands worldwide. Uniting our talented employees and complementary portfolios will enable us to expand our comprehensive, hyperlocal coverage for consumers, deepen our product offering for local businesses, and accelerate our shift from print-centric to dynamic multimedia operations. We are honored to become a part of Gannett’s storied history and a steward of their strong media properties into the future. We are committed to delivering significant synergies in a thoughtful manner, consistent with our shared goals for the business,” said Michael Reed, New Media Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

“The Gannett Board unanimously determined that this combination with New Media is in the best interests of Gannett shareholders, customers, audiences, and employees, providing significant and immediate value, as well as the ability to benefit from the upside potential of the combined company,” said J. Jeffry Louis, Chairman of the Gannett Board of Directors. “We see numerous opportunities to leverage the combined company’s enhanced scale and financial strength to continue to drive growth in the digital future. Importantly, we have found in New Media a strong partner and cultural fit for Gannett as we continue delivering on a shared commitment to journalistic excellence for the communities we serve.”
The companies will co-host a call to discuss the transaction and second quarter earnings on August 5, 2019 at 4:15 p.m. Eastern Time. Please visit the Investor Relations section of either company’s website (www.newmediainv.com or www.gannett.com).

Compelling Strategic & Financial Benefits
Enhanced scale. New Media and Gannett share a strategic vision, and the combined company’s significantly enhanced scale of operations will enable it to realize this vision more rapidly, while generating value for shareholders and benefits for employees and other stakeholders. The Merger will create a leading local and national media company with 263 daily media organizations across 47 states and Guam and USA TODAY, reaching more than 145 million unique visitors every month, as measured by Comscore. This scale will meaningfully enhance the combined company’s financial profile by leveraging nationwide reach and local presence to expand and deepen relationships with consumers and businesses. As a result, we will accelerate the growth of the combined company’s digital revenue through innovative customer experiences and new marketing solutions for businesses, while creating an expansive journalism network with the resources required to deliver unique and award-winning content.

Accelerate digital strategy. New Media and Gannett believe that a digital transformation of the newspaper industry is vital to the preservation of journalism, and the Merger will accelerate the combined company’s digital transformation. The breadth and depth of each company’s digital offerings will make the combined company a leading digital media player and a stronger partner for advertisers and SMBs.

Significant synergies. New Media and Gannett share a commitment to rationalizing costs as the media industry evolves, while continuing to invest in product development, training for newsrooms and understanding readers’ needs. The Merger is anticipated to result in run-rate cost synergies across the combined company of $275 – $300 million annually, unlocking meaningful shareholder value. The majority of synergies is expected to be realized within 24 months of closing and result from the increased scale of the new organization, sharing of best practices, leveraging existing infrastructure, facility rationalization and other judicious cost reductions.

External Management Agreement. New Media and FIG LLC, an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group (the “Manager”), have amended the external management agreement to set the termination date as December 31, 2021. The amendment, as described in more detail below, also reduces the incentive fee rate payable to the Manager for the remainder of the term.

Leadership and Governance
The combined company’s management team will be led by New Media’s current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Michael Reed. Alison Engel, Gannett’s current Chief Financial Officer, is expected to serve as the Chief Financial Officer of the combined organization upon closing. Gannett’s newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, Paul Bascobert, will become Chief Executive Officer of the combined company’s operating subsidiary. The rest of the combined company’s senior executive team, which is expected to be composed of highly experienced leaders from both companies, will be announced at a later date.

Mr. Bascobert was the President of XO Group from 2016 until its sale to Permira Equity in 2019. During his tenure, he helped lead the company’s transformation from a media company to a marketplace business. Prior to XO, Mr. Bascobert led sales, service, and marketing for the Local Businesses segment at Yodle from 2014 until 2016. Before that, he spent four years at Bloomberg LP as President of Bloomberg Businessweek from 2010 until 2014, in addition to serving as Chief Operating Officer of the Media Group from 2011 to 2014. Mr. Bascobert joined Bloomberg from Dow Jones & Co. where he was Senior Vice President of Operations from 2006 until 2007 and Chief Marketing Officer from 2007 until 2009.

The combined company’s Board of Directors will have nine members, including Mr. Reed as Chairman, five independent directors from New Media, and three independent directors from Gannett. Mr. Kevin Sheehan, who currently serves as New Media’s Lead Director, will serve as the combined company’s Lead Director.

New Media has been actively engaged in a director search and expects to announce two additional independent directors prior to closing. The companies believe that diversity can strengthen board performance and New Media is actively searching for women and other candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences.

After the closing of the Merger, both New Media and its operating subsidiary GateHouse, will be rebranded and operate under the “Gannett” brand. The combined company will be headquartered in McLean, Va., with a continued corporate presence in existing locations.

Financing
New Media expects to fund the cash portion of the Merger consideration through a combination of cash on the balance sheet and a new term loan facility (the “Term Loan”) to be funded at closing pursuant to a binding commitment from funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC (NYSE:APO), a global alternative investment manager with approximately $312 billion in assets under management, as of June 30, 2019, and deep experience in supporting media companies. The Term Loan, which will be used to retire existing financial debt obligations of both companies and to fund the cash component of merger consideration, will be a five-year senior secured term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of $1.792 billion. The Term Loan will be freely pre-payable without penalty, and the combined company is expected to have a strong cash-flow profile that will permit aggressive deleveraging. Total pro forma leverage at closing of the Merger is expected to be approximately 3.5x LTM As Adjusted EBITDA, before run-rate synergies, and 2.3x including run-rate synergies. Target net leverage within two years of closing is expected to be below 1.75x.

Dividend
Initially, the combined company is expected to have an annual dividend of $0.76 per share. It is expected that the dividend will be increased over time as synergies are realized and leverage is reduced.

External Management Agreement
Concurrent with the entry into the Merger Agreement, New Media and the Manager have agreed to amend the Management and Advisory Agreement dated as of March 6, 2015 (such amendment, the “Amended Management Agreement”), pursuant to which the Manager provides a management team (including the Chief Executive Officer) and other professionals who provide services to New Media.

The Amended Management Agreement, which will become effective upon the closing of the Merger, provides for the following key changes:

1. Establishes a termination date of December 31, 2021, for the Manager’s services in lieu of annual renewals of the term;
2. Reduces the incentive fee rate from 25% to 17.5% for the remainder of the term;
3. Reduces by 50% the number of options that would otherwise be issuable in connection with the issuance of shares as consideration for the Merger, and imposes a premium on the exercise price;
4. Eliminates the Manager’s right to receive options in connection with future equity raises; and
5. Eliminates certain payments otherwise due at or after the end of the term.

In exchange, New Media will issue to the Manager upon closing approximately 4.2 million shares of New Media common stock. The Manager is restricted from selling these shares until the expiration of the Amended Management Agreement, or otherwise upon a change in control and certain other extraordinary events. New Media will also grant the Manager approximately 3.2 million options with an exercise price of $15.50, a 45% premium to the closing price of New Media common stock on August 2, 2019. These options become exercisable upon the first trading day immediately following the first 20 consecutive trading day period in which the closing price of New Media’s common stock (on its principal U.S. national securities exchange) is at or above $20 per share, and also upon a change in control and certain other extraordinary events.

Upon expiration of the term of the Amended Management Agreement, the Manager will cease providing external management services to New Media, and the Manager will no longer be the employer of the person serving in the role of Chief Executive Officer of the combined company (the “Internalization”).

Timing and Approvals
New Media formed the Transaction Committee to review, evaluate, and negotiate the Merger and the Internalization (including the terms of the Amended Management Agreement). The Merger has been unanimously approved by the New Media Transaction Committee and by the Boards of both companies. The New Media Transaction Committee separately, and unanimously, approved the Amended Management Agreement.

The Merger is expected to close by the end of 2019, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory clearances and approval by the shareholders of each company.

Advisors
Credit Suisse is serving as financial advisor to New Media, and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is serving as principal legal counsel. New Media’s Transaction Committee retained Jefferies LLC as its independent financial advisor, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as its legal counsel.
Greenhill & Co., LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC are serving as financial advisors to Gannett, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Nixon Peabody LLP are serving as legal counsel.

About New Media
New Media Investment Group Inc. (NYSE: NEWM) supports small to mid-size communities by providing locally-focused print and digital content to its consumers and premier marketing and technology solutions to small and medium business partners. New Media is one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States as measured by its 154 daily publications. As of June 30, 2019, New Media operates in over 600 markets across 39 states reaching over 21 million people on a weekly basis and serves over 200,000 business customers. For more information regarding New Media and to be added to its email distribution list, please visit www.newmediainv.com.

About Gannett
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is an innovative, digitally focused media and marketing solutions company committed to strengthening communities across its network. With an unmatched local-to-national reach, Gannett touches the lives of more than 125 million people monthly with its Pulitzer-Prize winning content, consumer experiences and benefits, and advertiser products and services. Gannett brands include USA TODAY NETWORK with the iconic USA TODAY and more than 100 local media brands, digital marketing services companies ReachLocal, WordStream and SweetIQ, and U.K. media company Newsquest. To connect with Gannett, visit www.gannett.com.

LENEXA, Kan. & NEW YORK: Jul. 30, 2019 – Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA) and The National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) today announced a renewed distribution agreement allowing for continued carriage of Viacom’s media networks by NCTC’s more than 750 member companies.

“We are pleased to reach an early agreement that extends our long-standing partnership with the NCTC,” said Tom Gorke, EVP, Head of Distribution and Business Development, Viacom. “NCTC operators play an essential role in serving local communities, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with them to help drive member priorities and entertain their customers with our leading portfolio of entertainment brands.”

“Viacom is a great partner, and the early renewal of our Viacom agreement reinforces our strengthened relationship,” said Judy Meyka, EVP of Programming for NCTC. “We are happy to have reached a deal that provides value to all parties and, more importantly, provides our members and their customers with continued access to compelling content and programming options from Viacom.”
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

About the National Cable Television Cooperative
The National Cable Television Cooperative, Inc. (NCTC) is a Kansas-based, not-for-profit corporation that operates as a programming and hardware purchasing organization for its member companies who own and operate cable systems throughout the U.S. and its territories. NCTC seeks to maximize current and future opportunities to ensure the profitability, competitive stature and long-term sustainability of its member companies. NCTC represents more than 750-member companies in programming and technology acquisition. NCTC is actively engaged in helping network providers and suppliers evolve their business models to deploy new video/data solutions to match the changes in the media landscape.

About Viacom
Viacom creates entertainment experiences that drive conversation and culture around the world. Through television, film, digital media, live events, merchandise and solutions, our brands connect with diverse, young and young at heart audiences in more than 180 countries.