Tag: cbs

CBS Gets Serious About Its OTT Streaming Service

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Yesterday, CBS Broadcasting Inc. surprised the “trekkies” with the announcement of a new Star Trek TV series. More surprisingly, however, is how the broadcaster plans to distribute the long-awaited TV reboot. Reportedly, CBS is set to air the premiere episode on TV in early 2017 but will be putting all remaining episodes exclusively on CBS All Access, the subscription-based OTT streaming service it launched last fall.

Market Impact
Covering all CBS’ current content and back catalogue, All Access currently has about 100,000 subscribers, a number that pales in comparison to the likes of Netflix (69 million subs worldwide) and Hulu (9 million). As a longstanding Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek has built up a sizable number of devoted fans over the decades, a fanbase that CBS is clearly betting on to fuel the growth of its fledgling streaming service.

With more and more attention shifting from linear TV viewing to on-demand streaming, it makes sense for CBS to take proactive measures and leverage the enduring popularity of Star Trek franchise to raise the profile of its streaming service. Whether other networks will follow suit and start developing high-profile content exclusively for streaming platforms remains to be seen, but in the long run, this will likely prove to be a smart move for CBS.

 

Source: The Verge

CBS Partners With Twitter For The Upcoming #DemDebate

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Furthering the integration of social media into live TV events, Twitter has struck a partnership deal with CBS News to create an “enhanced viewer experience” for the upcoming Democratic debate on November 14. Using the designated #DemDebate hashtag, CBS News will incorporate real-time data and live reactions from Twitter into its broadcasting, and some Twitter users may even get to see their tweeted questions answered in the debate.

What Brands Need To Do
In a bid to engage with viewers who seek second-screen experiences, broadcasters are increasingly incorporating mobile platforms into live events. CNN livestreamed the most recent Democratic debate via its website and mobile apps, while MTV opted to livestream this Sunday’s EMAs in 360-degree videos via its mobile apps.

As the line between the TV screen and the second screens begins to blur, brands can get a better chance at reaching their audience through cross-platform targeting. Tapping into the granular personal data available on mobile devices would be key for brands to reach their desired audience during live events.

 

Source: Variety

CBS To Live Stream The Super Bowl And More For Free

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
CBS has announced that it will be live streaming next-year’s Super Bowl for free, along with two more regular-season NFL games. The games will be available via CBSSports.com, in addition to a wide range of OTT devices including Apple TV, Roku, Xbox One, and Chromecast. Moreover, the live streams will be free to watch, with no cable authentication required, which makes perfect sense given the broadcaster’s plan to bundle national Super Bowl ad spots with its corresponding streaming ad units, as making the livestreams more accessible would no doubt help CBS upsell those bundled ad units.

What Brands Should Do
As time-shifted viewing continues to erode live viewerships, big sport events has long been the last bastion that still consistently post huge ratings. As more and more people choose to cut the cord, media owners need to realize the importance of making content accessible on streaming platforms that audience has migrated to. CBS says it is trying to “experiment and gauge what the audience appetite is for live sports on digital platforms” with the aforementioned new initiatives, and the same holds true for all brands that seek to reach their audience with branded content.

 

Source: Digiday

CBS To Bundle Broadcast And Streaming Ad Sales For Super Bowl

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
CBS has confirmed its plan to sell all national ad spots for next year’s Super Bowl as a package deal with its corresponding stream’s ad units during the game. CBS will not allow advertisers to opt out of the latter, which are conventionally sold separately from the broadcast units. As a result, all national ads that plays during the game will be live-streamed as well.

Market Impact
According to NBC, over 1.3 million people watched this year’s Super Bowl via its streaming service, a number that will most likely increase next year as U.S. viewers continue to adopt OTT streaming services, but still pales in comparison to the over 114 million viewers who watched it on TV. Therefore, it is understandable that only 18 of more than 70 Super Bowl advertisers opted to put their commercials in the live-stream this year, and NBC allegedly had some difficulty selling all of its separate streaming inventory, according to an AdAge report.

CBS’s decision may set an important precedent and become common. “We expect bundling of broadcast and streaming ad sales to catch on, at least for the sports events that draw sizeable live audiences that are the most important and attractive for advertisers,” says Brian Hughes, SVP, Audience Analysis Practice Lead at Magna Global. “This approach unifies the viewer experience across platforms, and simplifies both the sales process and the viewership metrics which, for these events, are based on reach, not targeting.”

 

Source: Variety

CBS Expands Beyond Nielsen And Talks Behavioral Data

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: Variety

Backed with new data analysis from Nielsen Buyer Insights and Rentrak Polk Automotive, CBS is now claiming the top spot among TV networks across virtually all consumer product categories. While the broadcaster still insists on the necessity of traditional demographic-based ratings, it is very encouraging to see the usually conservative network recognizing the value in behavioral audience data as well.

In related news, CBS also announced that their OTT service CBS All Access now offers live TV streaming in over 60% of the US markets. As the TV landscape continues to fragment, and with better attribution tools now at their disposal, it is time for all advertisers and marketers to recognize the value of viewers based on how they behave in the marketplace, instead of merely their gender and age.

CES 2015: Leslie Moonves Doesn’t Care Where You Watch The CBS Shows

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: TechCrunch

CBS CEO Leslie Moonves took the stage at MediaLink’s “Brand Matters” keynote at CES 2015 to discuss the company’s newfound fondness for streaming. “I don’t care where you watch our shows”, remarked the CBS executive, “we just want it to be counted and be paid appropriately”.

Moonves also addressed CBS All Access, the network’s new OTT service, noting that he was hesitant at first but eventually turned his mind around.  He acknowledged that technology is changing the way businesses interact with audiences, but also stressed that content quality should always remain the first priority.

Meet CBSN, CBS’s New 24-Hour Digital News Network

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: AdWeek

After going digital with a standalone streaming service, American senior citizens’ most-watched network CBS just dove deeper into the digital swirl by launching a new 24-hour digital news network, tentatively and imaginatively named CBSN. Designed to be a more casual newsroom setting than traditional news shows, the channel, set for an official launch early next month, will stream live to TV sets, laptops and mobile devices with stories from all CBS reporters.

CBS To Offer Standalone Streaming Service

Posted on by Lab Team

Source: The Verge

Following HBO’s announcement offering standalone HBO GO yesterday, CBS is launching a streaming service. Dubbed CBS All Access, the service will be available for $5.99 per month, and allows subscribers to watch CBS content and classic shows online. NFL games are not being made available, though, given the huge ratings live sports still attract. As the cord-cutting movement continues to gain momentum, we expect more TV content providers to join in.

CBS CEO Admits Live TV Viewing “Virtually Irrelevant Now”

Posted on by Lab Team

At the Goldman Sachs Annual Communacopia Conference, head of CBS TV Les Moonves confirmed what we already know: “overnight ratings are virtually irrelevant now.” While stressing that CBS is still “monetizing the majority” of the time-shifted audience, the executive also praised OTT service Netflix for facilitating year-round programming, which CBS has been dipping its toes into. After this rather candid remark, it will be interesting to see how the broadcaster will continue to evolve its business model.

CBS: Tapping Into The OTT Market?

Posted on by Lab Team

CBS is said to be jumping into the over-the-top (OTT) market by allowing its production division, CBS Studios, to develop shows directly for streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon. As evidenced by the streaming deal they struck with Amazon last year for their summer hit “Under the Dome”, CBS has been clearly eyeing the potential in teaming up with the Internet-based challengers for a while now.

This move serves as a testimony to the growing importance of OTT services in the industry, and CBS seems to recognize that maybe there may be room for many competitors in this fractured market.