CBS announced that it has a new carriage deal in place with virtual MVPD PlayStation Vue.
The deal will cover the carriage of CBS-owned stations and affiliates along with Showtime, CBS Sports Network, CBSN and Pop.
“We are very pleased to extend our partnership with PlayStation Vue,” said Ray Hopkins, president of Television Networks Distribution for CBS, in a statement. “The renewal of this agreement for various CBS networks enables us to continue to bring CBS’ world-class content to the audiences we share.”
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CBS CEO Les Moonves and his network have been bullish on the future of OTT. Last year, Moonves said during an investor event that CBS is better positioned to adapt as viewing shifts away from traditional linear television.
“When ESPN announces they’re losing subs or Comcast announces they’re losing subs … when Bob Iger says ‘oh we’re going to be flat,’ for CBS, this is viewed as positive news,” Moonves said. “We are different than them, this movement is a positive for us.”
While CBS has struck a fair amount of distribution deals with streaming TV services, much of Moonves’ and the company’s overall confidence in OTT comes from All Access, CBS’s live TV streaming service.
CBS has set a goal for All Access and Showtime OTT to have a combined 8 million subscribers by 2020. A strategy involving original programming like “Star Trek: Discovery” and international expansion, starting with Canada and likely hitting Australia next, thanks to CBS’s deal for broadcast network Ten, has been driving momentum for All Access.