Two days after CBS announced its primetime programming would be available online 24 hours after airtime, the network announced that the “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric” — debuting Sept. 5 — will be simulcast online. It’s a first for u.S. broadcast news; last November, the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams became the first to be streamed online. The ad-supported online edition also will be available as ad-supported VOD or users can continue to pick individual reports as is the case now.
Does the surge of viewers online for March Madness mean people want to watch live broadcast news online in the late afternoon or early evening? The two audiences really aren’t the same but CBS Digital president Larry Kramer said the network’s successful MMOD showed “a huge appetite for real time content on the Internet.”
Similar to the way registration and IPs were used to keep viewers from seeing March Madness games that were blacked out on TV in their area, registration will be required and the newscast only will be available when it is airing in that user’s time zone — a plus for affiliates and a potential drawback for users. The newscast will have some of the other digital elements requisite in today’s environment — a blog, podcasts, etc.
In a statement, CBS News and Sports president Sean McManus said: “It’s another giant step towards providing CBS News content to people wherever they are – in their homes, in their offices, in their cars, on their computers or on their cell phones.”
As big a step as this might be, CBS isn’t going far enough. In order to reach the largest possible audience — another goal McManus mentioned — and to truly serve users the network should make the newscasts available immediately as audio and video downloads for those who commute or travel. The geolimits on viewing a network-owned show are almost anachronistic and replicate broadcast standards instead of taking full advantage of the internet.
Related: CBS Does An ABC: Streaming Primetime Shows Online In Fall; Ad-Supported
— CBS Affiliates Reach Deal On NFL, Digital
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