CBS News, Stations Rebrand And Expand Streaming

CBS News and Stations rebooted its streaming platforms today with a new name, a new and expanded programming slate and the launch of a 13^th local stream in Miami. CBS News has also added a new, state-of-the-art studio as its streaming base of operations.

The rechristened CBS News Streaming Network delivers live national streams along with 13 local streams and content from programs including 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, CBS Sunday Morning, Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan and the CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell.

“It is a collection of channels all in this one OTT experience where you have access to the best local reporters from across the world,” CBS News and Stations President and Co-Head Wendy McMahon told TVNewsCheck. “The programming slate is very much an overhaul of breaking news and the live news capabilities of the entire local footprint, while also leveraging the IP and the iconic local franchises of CBS News.”

Ann-Marie Green

McMahon said the platform’s improved UX “alerts you to those big, breaking news moments as they happen while also enabling the user to seamlessly shift from one channel to the next, from national to local and back again.”

She noted that the platform’s overhaul reflects a dramatic uptick in audience on CBS News and Stations’ streaming channels over the past year. CBS News delivered more than one billion streams, while CBS Stations’ local streams saw a 37% increase in 2021 over 2020, with a 40% increase in minutes watched in that same year.

“To see that kind of growth year over year is incredible, and so much of it is because our stations are very much in the mode of transforming to digital-first newsrooms” McMahon said. “They understand audiences are changing. Communities are in a state of evolution and with that there are changes in expectations they have of their local news brands. We need to meet those expectations.”

McMahon says that 2022 will see an additional 15,000 hours of live local news on its streaming platforms, resulting in 45,000 hours of coverage by year’s end. Later this year, it will also launch a 14^th local streaming channel, CBS News Detroit.

CBS News Miami anchors Eliott Rodriguez and Lauren Pastrana.

CBS News Streaming will be based out of a new, 4,000 square-foot studio with three pedestal robotic cameras, four main LED walls, four LED columns and multiple display and touchscreen monitors.

The organization’s rebrand includes a new graphics package and music.

“Neeraj [Khemlani, CBS News and Stations president and co-head] and I understand that the status quo is not an option here,” McMahon said. “We are both part of the legacy of CBS News and Stations and we consider it a personal responsibility to ensure that these brands are relevant for decades to come.

CBS News Streaming Network anchors Vladimir Duthiers and Ann-Marie Green.

“The speed of change is aligned with the speed of the marketplace and with the audience changes,” she said.

The CBS News Streaming Network’s programming slate now includes:

• Live, daily newscasts anchored by Vladimir Duthiers, Anne-Marie Green, Tanya Rivero, Lana Zak, Elaine Quijano and Tony Dokoupil, co-host of CBS Mornings; Michelle Miller, Jeff Glor and Dana Jacobson from CBS Saturday Morning; Jericka Duncan, anchor of CBS Weekend News; and correspondents across the network including Errol Barnett, Nikki Batiste, Enrique Acevedo, Jamie Yuccas and Lilia Luciana.
• An evening lineup at 6 p.m. with the nightly political program Red and Blue drawing upon CBS News’ Washington team including Major Garrett, Ed O’Keefe, Nancy Cordes, Weijia Jiang, Nicole Killion, Scott MacFarlane, Jeff Pegues, Catherine Herridge, Jan Crawford, David Martin and Robert Costa.
• A 7 p.m. live prime time news hour leveraging its New York headquarters and Washington and Los Angeles bureaus. From 8-10 p.m., the stream will present content from CBS News’ flagship broadcasts including, 60 Minutes and 48 Hours as well as original programs Person to Person With Norah O’Donnell, Eye On America, and a new documentary slate under the historic CBS Reports banner, the first one anchored by Gayle King. At 10 p.m., the CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell will air in its entirety.
• Here Comes the Sun — Tracy Smith and Lee Cowan will anchor a new weekly series spotlighting the original reporting from CBS Sunday Morning featuring extended interviews and never-before-seen moments from its best stories.
• Person-To-Person — A new interview series hosted by Norah O’Donnell. O’Donnell sits down with authors, celebrities, athletes and politicians in a 2022 take on the classic Edward R. Murrow interview series.
• CBS Reports — A new series including original documentaries and CBS News special reports that take a deeper dive into the key issues driving the national and global conversation delivered in various formats, including CBS News specials. The first edition will premiere on Feb. 25 and feature Gayle King anchoring a special, Travyon Martin: 10 Years Later, which explores the impact of the death of Martin, a teenager shot dead in Florida. Additionally, Wasteland, is a four-part series with CBS News correspondent and executive producer Adam Yamaguchi that examines the impact waste and garbage are having on America’s waterways.
• Eye On America — Michelle Miller, co-host of CBS Saturday Morning, will anchor a half-hour series highlighting storytelling that spotlights the fabric of America and the diverse perspective that shapes the American experience. It will also include segments from CBS stations around the country.
• The Uplift — Tony Dokoupil, co-host of CBS Mornings, will anchor a new weekly series spotlighting stories that inspire and motivate. The show features content capturing attention across social media, having become one of CBSNews.com’s most popular digital destinations. The new series will feature meaningful profiles of people who overcome the odds, make their communities better and simply put a smile on our faces and gives viewers faith in humanity.
• On the Road with Steve Hartman —Hosted by award-winning CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman, the new series brings viewers moving stories from unique characters he encounters and the places he visits. Each show highlights the human spirit by showcasing unique personal stories, a random act of kindness, with each episode focusing on a timely and resonant theme. The series is modeled after the long-running series started by legendary CBS News newsman Charles Kuralt. CBS News revived the storied franchise in 2011 with Hartman at the helm.
• The Dish — A new half-hour program hosted by CBS Saturday Morning co-hosts Michelle Miller, Dana Jacobson and Jeff Glor offering viewers a second helping of the James Beard Award-winning food segment produced for their show. The special series highlights chefs and culinary icons from around the world.
• Climate Watch ­— Reporting segments focused on the impact of climate change. Stories will examine the devastating effects of extreme climate change while also telling the stories behind advances to safeguard and improve the environment.
• MoneyWatch — The CBS News MoneyWatch experts will deliver segments throughout the day discussing the latest financial and market news. The segments will run at 7 a.m., noon and 4 p.m. ET.