CBS said it reached a new agreement with the CBS Affiliate Board that will help put live streams of affiliate signals on emerging digital streaming platforms.
The agreement continues affiliate participation in CBS' steaming service, CBS All Access, and it creates a template that allows CBS and its affiliates to be available to subscribers of new virtual MVPDs (multichannel video programming distributors) such as Hulu, YouTube TV and other future entrants into the market.
Financial terms of the agreement weren't disclosed. With traditional distributors, CBS gets a share of any retransmission revenue the stations receive.
NBC and ABC recently reached similar agreements with their affiliates.
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"Expanding distribution on these new platforms together with our affiliates has been a part of CBS' long-term digital strategy, and I am very proud we have reached this agreement with our affiliate board," said Ray Hopkins, President, Television Networks Distribution, CBS Corporation. "No broadcaster has made preserving the network-affiliate model a core tenet of their strategy like CBS. We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with our affiliates, and as these new forms of distribution continue to grow, including CBS All Access, so will our revenue together."
For some services, the need to make station by station streaming agreements slowed subscriber growth. With a centralized agreement, adding markets should be easier.
"We are pleased we have reached this agreement in partnership with CBS," said Chris Cornelius, chairman of the CBS Affiliates Board. "Access to these new and emerging digital distribution platforms gives all CBS affiliates the opportunity to provide viewers with more accessibility to their favorite local programs as well as must-see, hit CBS programming such as the NFL, The Big Bang Theory, NCIS, 60 Minutes and so much more."
