CBS All Access arrived in October 2014 as the first streaming offer from a US broadcast network, mostly carrying live CBS stations and past episodes. In November 2015 CBS promised a new Star Trek series for it, and the first exclusive to reach viewers was Big Brother: Over the Top, a streaming-only edition of the reality show, in September 2016.
Star Trek as the anchor
The first original drama was The Good Fight, a spin-off from The Good Wife that opened on CBS in February 2017 before continuing only online. Star Trek: Discovery followed on 24 September 2017 and gave the service its biggest one-day subscriber jump since the Grammy Awards. Star Trek: Picard came in January 2020 and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds in May 2022.
After CBS and Viacom merged again in 2019, the service took in Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central programmes and Paramount films, and on 4 March 2021 it was relaunched as Paramount+. Taylor Sheridan's Tulsa King, with Sylvester Stallone as a Mafia captain sent to Oklahoma, arrived in November 2022.
How the UK caught up
British viewers met Discovery long before Paramount+ existed here, because CBS licensed it to Netflix for release outside the US and Canada. In November 2021 the show was moved to Paramount+ internationally, ahead of a UK and Ireland launch arranged through Sky; the service opened on 21 June 2022, a day earlier than announced.
The ownership story is still moving. Skydance's merger with Paramount Global took effect in August 2025, and Paramount Skydance then agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, announcing that Paramount+ and HBO Max would become one service. A court approved a settlement of antitrust challenges to the deal on 30 September 2026; the takeover had not completed when we last checked, on 4 October 2026.
Key dates
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CBS All Access launches
CBS starts the first streaming service from a US broadcast network.
Source: Wikipedia: Paramount+
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The Good Fight premieres
The Good Wife spin-off becomes the platform's first original scripted series.
Source: Wikipedia: The Good Fight
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Star Trek: Discovery premieres
The new Star Trek series debuts on CBS and All Access; outside the US and Canada it streams on Netflix.
Source: Wikipedia: Star Trek: Discovery
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Relaunched as Paramount+
CBS All Access takes a new name and a wider library from across ViacomCBS.
Source: Wikipedia: Paramount+
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UK launch
Paramount+ opens in the UK and Ireland, a day earlier than planned.
Source: Wikipedia: Paramount+