CBS Developing 24-Hour Digital News Service

[Jess 1110]

I don't think this exactly counts as "US Cable News", but it's a good fit here.

 

BuzzFeed is reporting that CBS is developing, in essence, a 24 hour news channel. But not really for cable. The service under development would be for streaming devices - smartphones, tablets, video game consoles, Rokus, etc. They're looking at partnering with a distributor, so it could be exclusive to one platform (I see Microsoft being strongly interested), but the idea is to get it on as many devices as possible.

 

The thinking is that more people are bypassing cable for streaming services, and it would make more sense to target that audience rather than going for cable.

 

This service is being developed jointly by CBS News and CBS Interactive. The head of CBS News, David Rhodes, is said to be very close with CBS Interactive head Jim Lanzone.

 

And this is why the O&O sites piss me off so, so much. Unlike other media companies, this collaboration between News and Interactive is fairly forward-thinking and pragmatic. They know what they're doing, and I can't say the same for the O&Os under Peter Dunn.

[ToriElectra 291]

I wonder if they'll use the CBSNY+ and CBSPhilly+ channels as a test bed for this thing. They haven't really expanded that concept far.

[skbl17 188]

Wow, this is good news. Finally, an all digital news channel I would be able to watch online without VPNs and proxies!

 

CBS could very well have something with this. First, there are a lot of angry AJE viewers who, of course, can't see their favorite news channel online anymore without the help of VPNs or proxies. Second, the fact that there will actually be a news channel in the U.S. that embraces the internet and mobile devices is revolutionary, as to this day cable news has been just that, cable news; little to no live streaming is present without a cable subscription, which more of us are dropping. This is not to say that would be the first time, as there are smaller all-digital news outlets, but this is the first time that a national news service is openly considering something like this.

 

If CBS can combine their increase in journalistic standards undertaken post-Couric with the power of the digital platform, this has the potential to be a fantastic service! Only time will tell, though; I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[tvjay 6]

I would LOVE to see a CBS News channel. I watched Al-jazeera America but it is too dry for me. Plus, it is not available everywhere and is only in SD (on DirecTV). I love the way CBS does more "hard" news in the mornings (which has a growing audience) and I could only imagine a daily show that was inspried by 60 minutes.

[jmkcool2002 7]

Based on the story, the network is going to be separate from CBS but it'll utilize CBS' archives and current talent. Basically, it's CBS' "Fusion" aimed at a younger audience and put in app/on demand form rather than in 24hour cable news form. I think it's a good idea to repurpose CBS News' hard news content in a fast paced format which would be needed for a successful app (which is most likely aimed for young people). But my question is, would Microsoft, cable operators, Apple, Roku etc. really pay carriage fees for this type of network? There's nothing which makes it significantly different from what is already available and besides CBS affiliates and Showtime, there's nothing that CBS really has which would coerce cable operators to take on this network unlike ABC with Fusion which has ESPN, ABC Family, Disney Channel etc.