Paramount CEO Bob Bakish has said its back catalog will not be censored to conform with modern sensibilities in its subscription streaming service Paramount+.
Some streaming services, including BBC’s iPlayer, Netflix, Disney Plus, and more, have removed, censored, or put up trigger warnings on old shows and films that are deemed inappropriate by some in the modern era.
“By definition, you have some things that were made in a different time and reflect different sensibilities,” Bakish said. “I don’t believe in censoring art that was made historically, that’s probably a mistake. It’s all on-demand – you don’t have to watch anything you don’t want to.”
In recent times, streaming services have faced backlash for censoring shows that might be challenged by some factions of today’s world.
A major producer and global distributor of entertainment since 1912, Paramount Pictures’ library consists of more than 1,000 film titles with rights to an additional 2,500, featuring films by Hollywood’s most respected filmmakers, including Martin Scorsese, J.J. Abrams and Michael Bay, among others. Paramount made such classics as the “Star Trek,” “Godfather,” and “Indiana Jones” franchises, Academy Award-winners “Braveheart,” “Forrest Gump,” and “Titanic,” and current favorites such as the “Mission: Impossible” and “Transformers” franchises.
Formerly ViacomCBS, Paramount owns Nickelodeon, MTV, CBS, and Paramount Pictures in the US. In the UK, the company revived Channel 5, which now competes in the British streaming market dominated by Netflix and other rivals like Disney+ and Apple TV+.
