CBSN Local streaming services will be expanded into 13 major U.S. markets
CBS announced Thursday that it will be ramping up its rollout of CBSN Local, the company's streaming news service, to 13 major U.S. markets. CBS has already launched OTT streaming news services in New York and Los Angeles, with CBSN Boston and CBSN San Francisco Bay Area set to debut later this year.
CBSN Local services build on the growth of CBSN, the 24/7 streaming news service from CBS News and CBS Interactive that delivers live national and global news coverage and in-depth reporting from CBS News journalists. Launched in November 2014, the platform delivered nearly 400 million total streams in 2018.
CBSN Local services are available through CBSN, on CBSNews.com and on the CBS News apps for mobile and connected TV devices. In addition, the services are available through CBS Television Stations' local websites and the CBS Local mobile app.
On Thursday, CBS confirmed its plans to launch a CBSN Local service in the nine remaining markets where CBS has a local television news organization. All nine markets will debut their CBSN Local services by early 2020. The nine markets are Chicago, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Philadelphia, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Denver, Miami, Sacramento, Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
CBSN Local services feature 24/7 anchored programming and coverage of live breaking news events in the region. It also offers an extensive library of local news content that is available for on-demand viewing.
"It is clear there is significant demand for high-quality local news coverage on streaming services, and we are moving forward with excitement as we prepare to launch CBSN Local services in all 13 of our local news markets," said Peter Dunn, President, CBS Television Stations. "Our accelerated rollout schedule ensures launches in all of these markets ahead of the 2020 political primaries and elections."
The early success of CBSN New York and CBSN Los Angeles have opened up an accelerated expansion by CBSN into other major U.S. markets.
"Access to reliable local news is a priority for our audiences from coast to coast," said Christy Tanner, Executive Vice President and General Manager of CBS News Digital. "The ability to now provide our viewers with authoritative reporting on communities across America through individual streaming channels as we head into 2020 is a pivotal milestone in CBSN's evolution as the premier 24/7 streaming news service."
"The collaboration between CBS Television Stations and CBS Interactive, coupled with the enthusiastic response from the teams at our local stations, has created a winning combination, both for CBS and the millions of viewers we serve," said Adam Wiener, Executive Vice President and General Manager of CBS Local Digital Media.
CBSN Local services are ad-supported. They complement CBS' other streaming services, CBSN, CBS Sports HQ and ET Live, and will ultimately be included as live channels in CBS All Access in their respective markets.
