ViacomCBS rebrands, announces new corporate name

ViacomCBS announces a name change as part of its rebranding plans. The American mass media company said on Tuesday, Feb. 15, that its new corporate name is "Paramount," and the change is taking effect on Feb. 16.

ViacomCBS also said that its move to change its name is also an effort to adopt "an iconic global name" to mirror its increasing focus on the worldwide stage. The new moniker was also revealed to celebrate the company's launch of its streaming service called Paramount Plus.

As per CNN Business, ViacomCBS will be legally called "Paramount Global" but will also be referred to as Paramount. The news of the rebranding was dropped on the same day when the company hosted an investor presentation that lasted for almost three hours.

The event was held to promote its streaming strategy, globally. It also shared its plans for the expansion of its streaming service and other businesses in the U.S. and overseas.

With its new label, it will trade on the NASDAQ index under the PARA ticker for class B common shares, PARAA for class A, and PARAP for class A preferred. All of these changes were jointly announced by ViacomCBS' president and chief executive officer, and chairman of the board through a memo addressed to the employees.

The executives said that an iconic international company should also have an iconic global name thus, it deserves the "Paramount" label that truly reflects the power of ViacomCBS' content.

"Paramount is an idea: A promise to be the best," ViacomCBS' non-executive chair of the board of directors, Shari Redstone, said in a press release. "That promise has always been at the center of what we aspired to build as the steward of more than a century of cinematic excellence, and with businesses and brands that have defined and redefined entertainment for generation after generation. We have made enormous progress, and I have never been more excited about the future of this company."

Meanwhile, ViacomCBS' Paramount Plus is going global with its streaming service. Reuters reported that it is set to launch four versions of the reality series "The Challenge: War of the Worlds" and air them via TV networks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Argentina, to localized content and gain more viewers.

Lastly, the company plans to debut Paramount Plus in 45 markets in the last quarter of this year. This move is part of the scheme to catch up with rival streaming service firms.