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CBS follows HBO in targeting cord-cutters with $5.99/month VOD service via app & web

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Just one day after HBO announced that it would be offering a web-only subscription at some point next year, CBS has played leap-frog by announcing the immediate availability of a $5.99/month web & app subscription offering on-demand access to almost all content.

CBS All Access will offer subscribers thousands of episodes from the current season, previous seasons and classic shows on demand, as well as the ability to stream local CBS Television stations live in 14 of the largest U.S. markets at launch.

CBS All Access is available beginning today at CBS.com and on mobile devices through the CBS App for iOS and Android.

Cable companies have long shied away from offering access to popular, current programming without demanding that you sign-up to cable access first. But broadcasters now seem to be recognizing that it isn’t just cord-cutting that threatens their existing models, it’s also ‘cord nevers’ – young people who simply aren’t signing up for cable subscriptions in the first place, preferring to get their TV fix online … 

Speaking to the NY Times, CBS Corporation CEO Leslie Moonves has clearly seen which way the wind is blowing.

Everybody is talking about it. It is an important part of our future. Our job is to do the best content we can and let people enjoy it in whatever way they want. The world is heading in that direction.

The service isn’t quite live – you have to wait one day before getting access to episodes of current prime-time shows – and doesn’t quite live up to the all-access label, as it doesn’t (for now, at least) include NFL games … but it comes close.

CBS All Access includes the following programming, with more to be added in the coming months:

  • Full current seasons of 15 primetime shows with episodes available the day after they air.
  • Unprecedented ability to live stream local CBS stations in 14 of the largest markets at launch, with more to be added as affiliates join the new service.
  • Full past seasons of eight major current series, including THE GOOD WIFE, BLUE BLOODS and SURVIVOR.
  • More than 5,000 episodes of CBS Classics, including every episode of STAR TREK, CHEERS, MACGYVER, TWIN PEAKS and CSI: MIAMI.
  • Access to exclusive additional content for CBS Television’s biggest special events, such as THE GRAMMY® AWARDS, THE ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS and THE VICTORIA’S SECRET FASHION SHOW.
  • Ability to stream the BIG BROTHER 24/7 Live Feeds service for no additional fee when the show returns next summer.
  • Advertising-free environment for all CBS Classics

CBS says that access via ‘other connected devices’ will follow, suggesting that it may soon be available on Apple TV.

You can sign-up for the service here (with a one-week free trial available), and read the full press release below. Access to the service is only available within the USA.

CBS Press Express | CBS BRINGS PROGRAMMING DIRECT TO CONSUMERS WITH NEW MULTI-PLATFORM DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE

For $5.99 Per Month, “CBS All Access” Delivers Full Seasons of Current Primetime Shows,

Leading Daytime and Late Night CBS Programming, and Thousands of Episodes from
CBS’s Library of Classics

New Service Also Offers Live Streaming of Local CBS Television Stations
In 14 of the Largest U.S. Markets, with More to Come

NEW YORK – Oct. 16, 2014 – CBS Corporation today announced the launch of CBS All Access, a new digital subscription video on demand and Nielsen-measured live streaming service for the CBS Television Network. CBS All Access will offer subscribers thousands of episodes from the current season, previous seasons and classic shows on demand, as well as the ability to stream local CBS Television stations live in 14 of the largest U.S. markets at launch.

CBS All Access is available beginning today at CBS.com and on mobile devices through the CBS App for iOS and Android. The service allows fans to watch more CBS programming online and on mobile devices, while introducing yet another monetization window for the Company’s industry-leading content. CBS All Access will be available on other major connected devices in the coming months.

“CBS All Access is another key step in the Company’s long-standing strategy of monetizing our local and national content in the ways that viewers want it,” said Leslie Moonves, President and CEO, CBS Corporation. “This new subscription service will deliver the most of CBS to our biggest fans while being additive to the overall ecosystem. Across the board, we continue to capitalize on technological advances that help consumers engage with our world-class programming, and we look forward to serving our viewers in this new and exciting way.”

For $5.99 per month, CBS All Access includes the following programming, with more to be added in the coming months:

Full current seasons of 15 primetime shows with episodes available the day after they air.
Unprecedented ability to live stream local CBS stations in 14 of the largest markets at launch, with more to be added as affiliates join the new service.
Full past seasons of eight major current series, including THE GOOD WIFE, BLUE BLOODS and SURVIVOR.
More than 5,000 episodes of CBS Classics, including every episode of STAR TREK, CHEERS, MACGYVER, TWIN PEAKS and CSI: MIAMI.
Access to exclusive additional content for CBS Television’s biggest special events, such as THE GRAMMY® AWARDS, THE ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS and THE VICTORIA’S SECRET FASHION SHOW.
Ability to stream the BIG BROTHER 24/7 Live Feeds service for no additional fee when the show returns next summer.
Advertising-free environment for all CBS Classics.
CBS All Access offers an even more robust viewing experience on CBS.com, the #1 network website across platforms (comScore), and the CBS App, which has been downloaded more than 10 million times.

Jim Lanzone, President and CEO, CBS Interactive said: “Our focus is to develop the best cross-platform video experience possible. We want our audiences to be able to watch CBS’s industry-leading content live and on demand whenever and wherever they want. CBS All Access delivers on that promise by giving our audience not only more CBS content, but also more ways to watch in a seamless user experience. We’ve integrated the service into our existing offerings and look forward to bringing it to all major digital platforms – including additional connected devices – in the coming months.”

CBS All Access brings thousands of episodes to digital platforms, making it simple for fans looking for more CBS content to get it via one easy-to-use, multi-platform service.

Marc DeBevoise, Executive Vice President, Entertainment, Sports and News, CBS Interactive added: “Through CBS All Access, we are enabling our biggest fans to tap into CBS’s content – including the current seasons of many of the biggest shows on television – and bring it to existing and new audiences alike. CBS All Access reflects our efforts to distribute as much of our leading content as possible on new platforms in ways that are strategically sound and provide additional value to our audiences.”

The ability to live stream local CBS stations through CBS All Access was built in close collaboration with CBS’s owned and operated stations. Syncbak, in which CBS has a minority investment, powers the delivery and geo-targeting of the live feeds to in-market subscribers. At launch, live streaming will be available in CBS’s 14 owned and operated markets, including: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, Miami, Denver, Sacramento, Pittsburgh and Baltimore, with more to be added.

Peter Dunn, President, CBS Television Stations said: “With video consumption habits changing all the time, it is very important that we continue to provide the best local news, entertainment and sports via a service like CBS All Access. Television stations have been the fabric of local broadcasting for 75 years, and today’s announcement is part of paving the way for the next 75. We are extremely pleased to be a part of this exciting new service, and look forward to reaching a whole new set of viewers in our major markets across the country.”

Non-subscribers will continue to have access to the most recent current episodes of CBS programming on CBS.com, select CBS Audience Network partner sites and through the CBS App. Programming will be available the day after the shows air on TV, with an eight-day delay on mobile devices for primetime series only.

To sign up for CBS All Access, visit: http://www.cbs.com/allaccess

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Comments

  1. c1ce091b - 9 years ago

    Are you serious, CBS? “…Advertising-free environment for all CBS Classics” Really? You expect me to PAY for your service and then be inundated with advertising on everything I do want to see? Forget it, I am a cord-cutter because I am sick-n-tired of watching my shows, movies and so forth while having my viewing time interrupted by BS commercials. I cut the cord to get away from commercials and your BS like overlaying the show/movie I am watching with symbols and text!

    • Mr. Grey (@mister_grey) - 9 years ago

      Indeed. This will be the sticking point for most of these services. It’s why half the things you can already get on Apple TV are not a good deal already. The broadcasters want us to pay $5-$10 for each and every channel, and then inundate us with trashy commercials as well.

      The net result of that would be that we are paying *more* and we would still have the commercials.

    • chrisl84 - 9 years ago

      You cut cable to get away from commercials? So what planet do you live on that broadcast channels stop showing commercials when you dont have a cable tv package? Pretty sure over the air networks still show them either way….. maybe thats why you have so much pent up rage inside, your commercial escape plan didnt work…..

      • c1ce091b - 9 years ago

        Why the insults? What did I do to you? My time consists of watching movies/shows that I paid for or rented in an uninterrupted manner. I don’t need a cable TV package. I have not had cable TV for a good 15 years and have been very happy without. My news can be gotten from trusted sources, so I don’t have to put up with commercial news either. You know there is a very good life outside of commercial TV. I don’t have any rage, pent up or otherwise. I’m just an individual that does not like commercial TV, for what it does to my viewing experience.

      • Mr. Grey (@mister_grey) - 9 years ago

        You’re missing the point, or perhaps you are just too young to remember. The whole purpose of commercials in TV shows is to pay for the content. That’s how TV originated and operated for many decades.

        With the advent of cable, we were made to pay extra. Originally, this was explained as necessary to build out the cable networks which was mostly BS but hey, people *wanted* cable. It was a big improvement at the time. Very soon, cable bills began to skyrocket to five and six times what the original price was, and it was explained to people that they are paying for the distribution of the TV shows. Now, logically, it should be the other way around, the build out cost should have been high, and the later distribution costs of the network low, so … basically this was BS too. It was the networks and cable companies (that together formed an oligarchy or monopoly), simply making us pay because they could.

        With cable, the commercials are supposed to pay for the production costs, and the cable bill is to pay for the distribution costs, although in reality there are multiple hands in multiple pockets, sweetheart deals, kickbacks, and just the same kind of nefarious stuff you find in any capitalist endeavour.

        With Internet distribution, the distribution network already exists and is already built out. While there are some relatively small costs associated with distribution, it’s close to “free” and much much much much less cost than even the slight costs of the cable networks. This is mostly why the cost of an Internet channel can be much lower.

        The $6 a month you will pay, is supposed to cover the distribution cost *and* the production costs (like Netflix). What they are saying by leaving in the commercials, is that they want you to pay twice. They want to be able to support the entire CBS network (eventually, when all users switch to Internet), on the $6 fee, and then they want gravy all over that, by continuing to reap in billions of dollars in revenue from the commercials.

        It’s definitely double dipping. If the commercials stay, then a reasonable cost “per channel” for networks like CBS is really much closer to $0.99 a month (or less), than $6 a month.

        None of these facts will likely change anything however as the current cable model is a HUGE rip-off and a money grab of epic proportions, but people still pay for it. There are lots of us however who still believe in paying a fair price, and only paying for what we want and we aren’t going to go away, so why not just let us alone and stop bitching?

      • drhalftone - 9 years ago

        Look Grey, if you don’t like it, don’t pay for it. Buy the episodes one at a time from iTunes or Amazon Prime. I’m happy about this because, assuming they will carry Person of Interest, I’ll be able to watch the last four seasons, which I haven’t been able to watch after I cut my cable and lost my DVR box. So I’ll binge watch for a month or two, get caught up on all my CBS shows, and then switch back to watching the free episodes for the current season.

        If you really want to hurt the cable companies then share your neighbors broadband connection and stream stolen content from China.

      • To add to Mr Grey: With all the talk lately of big networks lobbying Congress to kill free OTA TV (run on frequencies owned by YES, we the taxpayer) they will squeak out these ala carte subscriptions as “we get it, we want you to get your programs” and double dip juuuuust a little. Then as soon as they pay off erherher I mean “work with” Congress enough to get the OTA TV killed, the packages will skyrocket and we will be back at square one with them holding all the marbles, again.

    • Joseph Collins - 9 years ago

      You realize people pay for cable and also watch commercials?

  2. rodgerrafter - 9 years ago

    I’m hoping the HBO and CBS timing points to a major upgrade to the Apple TV business model, with more content providers bypassing the cable companies and letting Apple sell their content for them.

    HBO’s reasoning, that the web viewing market has grown large enough, makes sense. “It’s been way too long” that cable companies have controlled content.

  3. Landy (@Soydepr) - 9 years ago

    how will this hurt hulu, which was the leader

    • drhalftone - 9 years ago

      I doubt that it will hurt Hulu. From my understanding, Hulu is just a website that provides links to broadcasters (NBC, ABC, FOX, etc) already online full episodes. Hulu gets higher traffic than any of the broadcasters single websites, so the broadcasters are willing to share the revenue on the commercials. Of course, Hulu Plus has extra content, but as a subscriber, there really isn’t anything to brag about. The only reason I pay for Hulu Plus is because its the only way to get Hulu content on my Apple TV. I haven’t seen free Hulu for iOS yet, although they have promised it.

    • iSRS - 9 years ago

      It shouldn’t. CBS is already not on Hulu. The “put a higher value” on their content.

      • drhalftone - 9 years ago

        There are a couple of shows on Hulu Plus (Blue Bloods and The Good Wife), and they have far fewer commercials than watching the shows from CBS’s website directly.

  4. golfersal - 9 years ago

    There is the “buzz word” advertising free for just CBS Classics. But for the rest we will have to pay for a service and now be forced to watch ads. What a step down from our DVR’s which freed us of advertising.
    This is the real reason those greedy SOB’s want this service, they control the technology so that we can’t skip commercials anymore.
    It’s a crappy, greedy world out there and for each thing that comes down the pike, there are no benefits for us.

    Lacarte TV sounds great, hey we can cut the cable bill. But when you have to pay $6 a month for each network, you can see in order for you to have CBS, Fox, NBC and ABC it’s $24 for just four channels. On top of that you don’t have the freedom of skimming through on a DVR. At $6 a crack you get ten networks that’s $60, about the same as getting 100 channels from Comcast or FIOZ.

    Yes it’s a brave new world out there.

    • iSRS - 9 years ago

      I knew a la carte would never result in the savings proponents of the model suggested.

      Fortunately, NBC, ABC and Fox all own hulu. If CBS is successful, I can see Hulu going up to $10/month.

      Add in $10 for Netflix, and you are paying $26/month. And most content, just not all as they air. In the end, this may bite them, as people will just wait for them to get the whole season on Netflix and binge watch.

  5. Since cable companies also provide internet they will easily shift resources to become sole broadband providers. Expect broadband prices to sky rocket in the next few years.

    • RP - 9 years ago

      yes maybe. its a possibility as cable companies will want replace their income stream. That is, unless healthy competition appears. right now its pretty monopolized.

  6. I don’t understand the cable cutting thing. You’re just paying someone else to watch tv… And none of this would happen if you pay per channel on cable. That way I wouldn’t pay for the billion fucking hispanic stations and shopping stations and cooking stations and pawn shop stations…

    • RP - 9 years ago

      forget. your racist tendencies for a second. What cable subscribers are paying for is sports. It is the costliest programming by far and everyone whether you watch sports or not is subsidizing for everyone else. Cooking shows and Hispanic shows cost peanuts to the cable companies, that’s why there are so many.

      • iSRS - 9 years ago

        agreed. I cut my DirecTV package down, and i now have ZERO sports channels.

      • Avenged110 - 9 years ago

        That’s not even racist…

      • Cameron Scott - 9 years ago

        You use that word racist but do not actually know what it means.

  7. RP - 9 years ago

    sounding more and more like new Apple TV. Everybody sooner or later will jump to over the top, it’s inevitable.

    Apple has had an opportunity with the leapfrog moment along the line of what they did with the iphone with Apple TV but have been lagging. Getting deals with the Networks should have never held it up. It should have been open to the masses and become a conduit for creativity on the big screen like the rest of the net. New content, new players.. Where is the apps store? where was the browser? where were the games? where were the channels for consumers to create?

    Hopefully we see some of this addressed today with the new Apple TV

  8. clockwizedbe - 9 years ago

    Hold on a second CBS… I’m going to pay $7.99/month for Hulu Plus and get the massive content library that comes with that… Next day updates… Oh, and even a library from your network… But you’d like me to pay $2 less for just your programming? Zero value! I’ll drop $10 on HBOGo and enjoy commercial free content. But $5.99/month for essentially what I get over the air plus a back catalog no one cares about, is more than ridiculous.

  9. Why would I as a cord cutter buy this when I can get all of CBS, including the content they leave out, OTA for free?

  10. thejuanald - 9 years ago

    I don’t understand this. CBS is network television, and free. Why would I pay for it? HBO is nice because you would have to have cable/satellite and the hbo subscription, now you just need the HBO subscription. Not so with CBS.

  11. Avenged110 - 9 years ago

    I’d still much rather just buy a season pass for the few things want on iTunes and not have to deal with subscriptions or, most importantly, commercials. And I get a local copy to do with as I please.

  12. Jude - 9 years ago

    It seems as though the ultimate plan will be to cut cord-cutters completely off from next-day broadcasts. If that happens, I’ll just stop watching CBS. Until that happens, I won’t pay more to watch the only four CBS shows I watch (news, Amazing Race, Face the Nation, and Scorpion, but I think I’m already tired of that one). When it happens, I will no longer watch anything on CBS. The only reason I had cable was because without it, I received 1 over-the-air channel. I’m not even sure that channel is available now because I have an old TV set that wouldn’t receive it if it’s still broadcasting. Cable continued to increase in price, and I had to have high-speed internet anyway for work, so I ditched it. It would have cost me $30 a month for 13 channels, which is insane. I understand that streaming is a value-added service, but ultimately, if you can only get TV via streaming or cable, it seems that a large number of people are completely cut off from TV without a streaming option, so this probably needs to be addressed by the government, not that it will be because our government is so ineffective.

  13. Chris Korn - 9 years ago

    Why would you pay CBS for content that you can watch for free with old school technology.. It’s called a fricken antena. A can get all the basic cable channels in HD with my antenna. That’s why you cut the cord. Tired of paying outrageous cable prices and still gettin the commercials.

  14. Jim Williams - 9 years ago

    Networks should be happy with the huge amounts they are being paid by affiliates and advertisers. I will never pay for a network that I am already paying for. The FCC should ban this practice.

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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