HBO may have made cord-cutters' dreams come true with its announcement yesterday that it will launch a streaming video service next year. But while fans of the premium cabler speculate about how that might work and how much it will cost, this morning CBS unveiled CBS All Access, a digital subscription video-on-demand and live-streaming service that's available now.
The networks' situations are different, of course. Whereas HBO's programming is largely on lockdown, anyone with an antenna can already watch CBS shows for free. And despite the network's best efforts at branding, I just don't think there are fans of the Eye so much as specific shows.
But for $5.99 per month on CBS.com and through the CBS mobile app, the network is offering full current seasons of 15 shows with episodes available the day after they air; full past seasons of eight current series, including "The Good Wife," "Blue Bloods" and "Survivor"; and more than 5,000 episodes of classic shows including every episode of "Star Trek," "Cheers," "MacGyver," "Twin Peaks" and "CSI: Miami.
Keep in mind, though, that CBS doesn't own all the titles it airs. The network's most popular sitcom, "The Big Bang Theory," for example, is produced by Warner Bros. Like on CBS' free streaming service, a handful of its current season will be available at one time, though paid subscribers will get a couple more.
Current and past seasons will stream with ads, though about a quarter fewer than on TV. Classic shows will be ad-free. In addition, subscribers in 14 markets will be able to stream local CBS TV stations live—except for the NFL. These viewers will be measured by Nielsen, and subscribers will see all the same ads when they're watching live.
CBS, which opted not to join its rivals' streaming service Hulu, views its new All Access streaming service as complementary to the deals it already has in place with SVODs like Netflix and Amazon as well as pacts for off-net syndication. The service may not be for everyone, but it offers another, if limited, monetization window for the network.
"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 president and CEO Leslie Moonves. "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."
CBS, remember, owns Showtime, and this latest development could serve as an acid test for introducing a similar service for that premium channel.