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CBS Unveils Plans To Launch New Sports Streaming Channel Later This Year

CBS "plans to launch a new streaming sports channel later this year" that is modeled after CBSN, the company's "streaming news service," according to Jon Lafayette of BROADCASTING & CABLE. CBS Chair, President & CEO Les Moonves on a Q2 earnings call yesterday said that CBS "already has an online sports group" in Ft. Lauderdale and will be "able to use the [infrastructure] in place for CBSN to keep cost down and create a path for profit in a relatively short period of time." He added that the channel, which has yet to be named, will "look to differentiate itself from ESPN and Fox Sports." Moonves also said that Showtime’s coverage of the Aug. 26 Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor fight will be "available via over the top streaming direct to consumers" (BROADCASTINGCABLE.com, 8/7). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Flint & Moise noted CBS "already owns" CBS Sports Network, and "has some sports rights but not at the level" of ESPN or Fox (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/8). CNBC’s Sara Eisen said, “Sports is interesting because for so long, sports was the Holy Grail. Then, all of a sudden, there was a question about ESPN and Disney and the rising competition for sports rights from companies like Amazon and Twitter and everybody else. It sort of remains an open question about where it goes.” CNBC’s Mike Santoli noted most major broadcast rights are locked up for a few years, so media companies "might as well try to get revenue across every platform to defray that cost” (“Closing Bell,” CNBC, 8/7).

DANCE WITH THE ONE THAT BROUGHT YOU: Moonves said that he "didn't anticipate being on the losing end of a bidding war with the digital media giants when the time comes to renegotiate the current rights deal with the NFL." Moonves: "The NFL has always been a big supporter of broadcast television." AD AGE's Anthony Crupi noted Moonves' statement was "echoing a sentiment expressed" by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell a few weeks ago. Regardless of how the TV viewing landscape changes between now and when it is "time for CBS to pull up a seat across from the NFL's negotiators, it's hard to imagine that the NFL would turn its back on its 60-plus-year association with CBS." Early streaming experiments on Yahoo and Twitter have "been rather underwhelming." The NFL is "unlikely to show the door to a linear broadcaster in favor of a relatively unproven platform." Thus far, the demand to stream NFL games on Twitter "hasn't been nearly robust enough to provide a sense of scale" (ADAGE.com, 8/7).

MARCH-ING ORDERS: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Flint & Moise note for Q2, CBS "reported higher-than-expected sales and earnings as the media company received a boost from college sports and streaming subscription services." Ad revenue -- the "largest contributor" to CBS' top line -- grew 4.3% to $1.3B, led by the semifinals and finals of the NCAA Basketball Tourney (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/8). At presstime shares of CBS were trading at $66.29 per share, up 2.68% from the close of business yesterday (THE DAILY).

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On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

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