Streaming is the name of the game in television these days. Platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon are dominating the TV landscape and now the bigger broadcasting companies are trying to get in on it. Not content to simply make content and sell it to say, Netflix, some studios are opting to just cut out the middle man entirely by creating their own exclusive platform. CBS All Access is CBS' answer to streaming, but does anyone care? Is anyone really buying this? Evidently, yes. CBS reports that it'll have 4 million subscribers before the year is out.
Per Variety, CBS is feeling pretty good about its chances in the streaming market. CBS All Access and the standalone Showtime service are both "poised" to exceed a total of 4 million subscribers by the end of 2017. CBS' goal is to reach 8 million total OTT subscribers among its platforms by 2020, so the broadcast company is almost halfway there at this point. CBS All Access is currently in the process of expanding to foreign markets. It'll be available in Canada by the first half of 2018 and will continue to grow from there.
CBS is also working on getting a sports streaming service off the ground patterned after its CBSN digital news channel. The success of CBSN has given CBS the confidence to make use of its sports coverage, which will eventually be available on the currently unnamed platform.
CBS All Access launched three years ago. At the time, the idea of a CBS exclusive streaming service was met with some criticism. It wasn't clear how many people would pay $5.99 a month for CBS, especially considering that most of CBS' audience is a little bit more gray around the temple than the usually targeted streaming audience. But 4 million subscribers argues otherwise.
CBS All Access offers viewers access to a library full of CBS produced content, which ranges from classic shows to current favorites. The service will also soon be the exclusive home to the high-profile Star Trek: Discovery series, which tells the story of an all new cast of characters. Over at Showtime, that particular service has seen an uptick in subscribers, in large part thanks to Twin Peaks. The David Lynch revival is the premium channel's most-streamed series ever. It also has a highly-anticipated pay-per-view fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor coming up on August 29th. The fight will be available to purchase even for those who aren't subscribed to Showtime.
While CBS is busy doing its thing, we can't forget that there's TV happening right now. Check out our summer and fall TV release guides to learn what shows you need to pay attention to for the next couple months.
