CBS All Access Bolsters Kids’ Programming And Features Ahead Of Relaunch

As it prepares to relaunch CBS All Access as Paramount+, ViacomCBS is beefing up the streaming service’s kids’ programming and enhancing its parental controls, making it more competitive in a heated marketplace.

Children’s programming on the platform has almost doubled in volume overnight, with the introduction of nearly 800 episodes from the company’s catalogue. They include Nick Jr. shows Paw Patrol, Blaze and the Monster Machines, Blue’s Clues, Bubble Guppies, Dora the Explorer, and Shimmer and Shine.

The shows join previously launched series, including Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and the Danger Mouse revival. Next year will see the addition of Nickelodeon’s Spongebob spin-off series Kamp Koral as well as the new feature The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run. These titles signal how ViacomCBS will continue to leverage its well-known brands and IPs as it builds a slate of content for the service.

Meanwhile, subscribers will now be able to create up to six profiles per account, limiting content on each one according to age ratings. The existing PIN-based parental controls will also remain.

These updates bring CBS All Access in line with rival platforms, many of which already offer similar family-friendly features. Kids are a prized demographic in the streaming wars. Subscribers with children are more likely to pay for more expensive tiers (which allow for multiple profiles), and to stay subscribed.

Netflix, something of a trailblazer in this area, announced this week that it is testing new tools in select markets: Kids Activity Report, which lets parents know what their kids are streaming, and Family Profile, which identifies content suitable for all members of a family. This article in Techcrunch has more.