CBS All Access is looking to grow its audience and better compete with Netflix for engagement time by rolling out kids programming on its subscription video platform.
CBS All Access will have originals, including “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” and “Danger Mouse,” along with thousands of hours of library content, including “Inspector Gadget” and “Heathcliff.” Kids programming will arrive on the platform later this year.
The move could be seen an answer to competitors like Netflix, which have aggressively built up their kids programming lineups. But, it could also be a reaction to All Access’ demographics reach. The CBS broadcast network leads in total viewers, but often lags NBC and Fox in the 18-49-year-olds demo. But, CBS CEO Joe Ianniello said the “vast majority” of All Access viewers fall into that demographic. He also said time spent on All Access have grown 60% year over year.
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Ianniello also said that adding kids programming will drive new subscribers to the platform and reduce churn among existing subscribers.
“The word is churn; we termed it as ‘pausing,’ and we’re trying to eliminate that. I think kids programming is critical to that,” Ianniello said.
CBS didn’t provide a clear update on subscriber totals for All Access and the Showtime direct-to-consumer platforms, but did say the services are still on track to have a combined 25 million subscribers by 2022, and that they helped delivery a 13% increase in affiliate and subscription fee revenue.
Combined with growth in advertising, and content licensing and distribution revenues, CBS’s consolidated revenue increased 10% to $3.81 billion from $3.47 billion during the second quarter. Operating income for the second quarter of 2019 increased 5% to $695 million from $659 million.