http://www.multichannel.com/news/news-articles/cbs-all-access-reaches-deals-affiliates/389605
CBS All Access Reaches Deals With Affiliates
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. The 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.
