CBS adds 24/7 sports coverage to slate of streaming products.
After announcing in August that CBS was looking to launch a sports version of its over-the-top service CBSN, company executives expanded on that vision and divulged additional detail about the service on CBS’s November earnings call.
The 24/7 live-streaming sports channel will be called CBS Sports HQ and launch “in the coming months,” according to CBS Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves. It will be a free ad-supported service, bundled together with CBSN, the company’s free 24/7 streaming news channel.
“What we see is an appetite of demand for consumers that want news and highlights of sports where we see a void in the marketplace. They want it on their terms, on their time. So we’re going to give that to them,” said CBS Chief Operating Officer Joseph Ianniello on a Thursday night call with analysts. “We think the demographic is very attractive for advertising.”
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CBS plans to tuck both CBSN and CBS Sports HQ into CBS All Access to bolster that offering as well. CBS All Access is a $5.99 a month streaming service (also available for $9.99 a month commercial free) that includes all CBS prime-time shows, available online one day after their broadcast debut.
The sports service is part of an effort by CBS to tackle a shift in consumer behavior away from traditional cable packages, which has contributed to a loss in subscriptions. It enables CBS to better compete with digital rivals, such as Amazon.com, which won the rights this season to stream a number of Thursday Night Football games.
CBS, which has the rights to stream the NCAA men’s basketball tournament through 2032 and has a fuller slate of NFL Thursday Night Football Games this season, did not expand on what Sports HQ will look like beyond mentioning that it will have sports highlights.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that CBS Sports HQ is a free service, which means viewers shouldn’t expect a host of premium content or live streaming of the most in-demand games.
