FYI, CBSN is a FOTI 24-hour news stream. Moonves is thinking of adding a sports
direct-to-consumer stream and entertainment news streams, using FOTI.
Interesting! It has always seemed like the natural progression, FOTA to FOTI,
especially in view of the fact that consumers are not flocking to walled
gardens, these days. Consumers have choices now.
And CBS All Access going international.
This is pretty much the way I expected OTT TV to evolve. The content owner is
free to take control of distribution, and the consumer is hardly stuck in the
mud of the past 40 years. And why would a content owner want to do this?
Simple. They get increased viewership and increased revenues. But sure, the
channels that used to be subsidized, in legacy MVPD bundles, are going to lose
out.
Needless to say, this too depends on net neutrality. Without that, the clock
could be turned back, by the special interests (and today's FCC, firmly in
their pockets).
Bert
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http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/currency/moonves-says-cbs-has-over-5m-over-top-subscribers/171852
Currency
CBS CEO Les Moonves
Feb 15, 2018 04:52 PM ET
Moonves Says CBS Has Over 5M Over-the-Top Subscribers
Sports service to launch late February
By Jon Lafayette
CBS said its over-the-top direct-to-consumer services already have nearly 5
million subscribers, well ahead of expectations.
Speaking on CBS's earnings call Thursday with analysts, CBS CEO Les Moonves
said that subscriber growth for CBS All Access and Showtime's OTT product are
"far beyond where we expected them to be."
Moonves said CBS expects to exceed its goal of 8 million subscribers by 2020.
He noted that the streaming services generate higher fees than traditional
distribution and create a direct relationship with viewers. That relationship
yields valuable data, creating advertising that generates higher rates.
The OTT services area is also attracting the next generation of viewers,
Moonves said. The average age of viewers on CBS All Access is 20 years younger
than viewers who watch on broadcast and cable.
Similarly, CBS's OTT news service, CBSN, has a young audience, with 80% of
viewers between the ages of 18 and 49 and an average age of 38.
CBS will be following the CBSN model with two more products. CBS Sports'
direct-to-consumer service will launch later this month, just before the start
of March Madness and The Masters.
In the fall, an entertainment news service based on Entertainment Tonight will
launch.
Both new services will be free and ad-supported.
"We're setting ourselves up for the direct-to-consumer future," Moonves said.
CBS All Access will also be going international, launching in Canada in June,
and then in Australia and Europe.
With its OTT business, Moonves said that CBS was actually adding total
subscribers and expects to surpass its goal of $2.5 billion in retransmission
and reverse comp income by 2020.
"In a nutshell, changing viewer habits are resulting in more subscribers for us
and at higher rates," he said.
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