CBS Is Launching a Cord-Cutting Subscription Streaming Service, Too
That puddle of warm fluids pooling at your feet is the pee leaking out of the frightened execs who run cable television providers. Their monopoly on beaming television content into living rooms has been in jeopardy ever since third-party streaming services started Netflixin' and Huluin', but now their content partners are making life difficult for them, too.
On Thursday, CBS announced CBS All Access, a multi-platform digital subscription service that gives users on-demand access to most of the network's current programming as well as classics from its vault. The cost is $5.99 per month (for comparison's sake, Netflix Instant is $8.99 per month, and Hulu Plus is $7.99 per month) and includes on-demand programming as well as live-streaming of local CBS affiliates (available in 14 markets at launch, with more to be added later).
So what do you get for the price of a couple coffees or one super fancy coffee?
– Full current seasons of 15 CBS primetime shows and access to new episodes the day after they air. The network hasn't made it totally clear which shows it's counting as its "15 primetime shows," but after signing up for a free one-week trial, I can confirm that all the biggies are there, including The Big Bang Theory, Blue Bloods, Criminal Minds, CSI, Elementary, The Good Wife, Hawaii Five-0, The Mentalist, NCIS, Person of Interest, and Survivor.
– The ability to live-stream local CBS stations (again, only in the initial 14 markets). However, sports fans should note that "some sporting events, including NFL coverage, are not available for live-streaming," according to the network.
– Full past seasons of eight CBS shows, including The Good Wife, Blue Bloods, and Survivor, with more options coming.
– Over 5,000 episodes of commercial-free "CBS Classics," including Cheers, Twin Peaks, Star Trek, and CSI: Miami.
– Big Brother 24/7 live feeds. Yawn.
– Extra content for CBS's special events, like the Country Music Awards and The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (meow!).
This news comes just one day after HBO announced that it will begin offering its programming via an à la carte subscription fee—without a cable subscription—in 2015.
This is a particularly bold move for CBS, which has always been more rigid than its fellow broadcast networks with regard to making its content readily available online. When Fox, NBC, and ABC went in together on Hulu, CBS held out and restricted all streaming of its programming to CBS.com. Now, CBS All Access will be the first subscription service tied to a single broadcast network, which fits CBS's business model of maintaining control of its content.
With cable bills skyrocketing (mine is something like $120 a month and I don't even have Showtime or Starz), viewers have been demanding an à la carte options for years. If you tally up the cost of monthly subscriptions to Hulu Plus ($7.99), Netflix ($8.99), CBS All Access ($5.99), and HBO's yet-to-be-named service (it'll be different than HBO Go, which does require a cable subscription, and it's expected cost as much as $15), cord-cutters could save a pretty penny. Of course, most of these services come with limits—i.e. one-day delays for watching new episodes on demand and no live-streaming of sports—but this is the future and we all better get used to it. Yep, even you, Comcast.
Are you ready to tell Comcast and Time Warner to go make love them to themselves?
Full disclosure: TV.com is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of CBS.
