Cablevision Systems and CBS said they have agreed to a broad-based, multi-year content carriage agreement they said covers retransmission consent for CBS-owned stations, continued carriage of Showtime, CBS Sports Network and Smithsonian Channel and makes Cablevision the first pay-TV provider to announce plans to distribute CBS All Access and Showtime streaming services to broadband (Optimum Online) customers. Financial terms weren't disclosed and the companies said details on pricing and rollout timing of the streaming services would be provided later. Cablevision also was the first pay-TV distributor to bundle in the streaming programmer Hulu and HBO's standalone service HBO Now -- and offering slimmed-down TV packages to reach new subscribers.
“This comprehensive new agreement builds on our strong relationship with CBS and ensures that every Optimum customer gets the highly popular CBS content they want across multiple platforms and screens,” Tom Montemagno, executive vice president of programming at Cablevision, said in a release. “As the first distributor to agree to provide CBS’ new Internet services, Cablevision continues to expand its portfolio of next-generation offerings, connecting customers to the programming they value when and where they want it.”
“We are pleased with this new agreement that meets all of our economic and strategic goals,” Ray Hopkins, president, television networks distribution, at CBS said in the release. “Cablevision has long been a terrific partner and we once again look forward to providing CBS and Showtime programming to the viewers we share for years to come.”
Cablevision operates in the New York metropolitan area and is the seventh-biggest pay-TV provider with about 2.7 million video customers (3.1 million overall). Pictured: CBS's Big Bang Theory.
