CBS All Access, the digital subscription, video on demand and Nielsen-measured live streaming service launched by broadcaster CBS last year, has reached an agreement with the CBS Affiliate Board and has secured early deals with a number of affiliate partners, giving the service access to local content in more than half of the country.
Signing off on the deal are CBS affiliates such as Dispatch, Graham Media, Gray, Hearst, Lilly Broadcasting, Meredith, Morgan Murphy, Morris Network, Neuhoff Media, Nexstar, Raycom and Withers, the broadcast giant said. The live linear feeds in many of the markets represented by these 12 affiliate groups will begin rolling out this month. Teh deal comes about a month after the CBS Affiliate Board said it had come to terms with the network.
The addition of these affiliates – which represent 56 markets nationwide – to the 14 owned-and-operated CBS stations that participated in CBS All Access’ October launch brings the live linear feed coverage of CBS All Access to 55% of U.S. households. The 14 CBS owned stations include markets such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The new markets to be added include Atlanta, Phoenix, Orlando, Cleveland, Columbus, St. Louis, Charlotte, Hartford, Kansas City and Las Vegas.
“This is another key step in the company’s long-standing strategy to grow our business in a way that complements our existing ecosystem,” said CBS CEO Les Moonves in a statement. “Adding CBS affiliates to the mix will give viewers the opportunity to watch more CBS programming whenever they want on whichever device they choose. We look forward to adding more affiliate partners to build CBS All Access nationwide.”
All Access offers a live stream of local programming from affiliates and select on-demand programming like 2 Broke Girls, 60 Minutes, The Amazing Race, Big Brother, with ad-free access to older shows such as The Andy Griffith Show, Twin Peaks, The Brady Bunch, Cheers, and Family Ties, for about $5.99 per month. The company has not revealed how many customers have signed on to the service, but at a recent conference, Moonves said All-Access was “ahead of projections.”
“We are excited to have in place a groundbreaking agreement which begins a new era in distribution for CBS affiliates said vice chair of Dispatch Broadcasting and chairman of the CBS Affiliates Board Michael Fiorile in a statement. “CBS All Access is designed to take advantage of the growth in place-shifting by giving our viewers the utmost ease of accessibility to their favorite local programming. We see it as an opportunity to expand our reach to consumers by delivering our stations anywhere and anytime our viewers want to watch.”
Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the company said each affiliate partner will participate in a revenue-share and will also benefit by having live viewership in their markets applied to their Nielsen rating.
The ability to live stream local CBS stations through CBS All Access is made available through Syncbak, in which CBS has a minority investment.
In the markets that do not yet offer live-streaming of their local CBS station, CBS All Access subscribers have access to nearly 7,000 episodes on-demand via the CBS App for iOS and Android, on CBS All Access’ Roku channel and online at CBS.com, with additional connected devices being added in the coming months. CBS All Access’ on-demand offering includes episodes from the current season – including full current seasons of 16 primetime shows with episodes available after they air – as well as previous seasons and classic shows.
