CBS All Access to go international

The Big Bang Theory

US media giant CBS Corporation is set to roll out its streaming service CBS All Access internationally, beginning with Canada next year.

The service, which includes both VoD and live streaming options, allows viewers to watch more than 9,000 episodes on demand, including current shows like The Big Bang Theory as well as past seasons of classics such as Frasier.

CBS, which is the most watched US network, has also begun commissioning original programming for the service, including The Good Wife spin-off The Good Fight, reality show Big Brother and Star Trek: Discovery.

An existing global streaming deal with Netflix for the latter series is likely to prevent it being made available on CBS All Access outside the US, however.

Other as-yet-unnamed markets will follow the Canadian launch in the first half of 2018, with prices for these non-US markets to be announced at a future date, CBS said.

CBS will make the service available internationally through a partnership between its CBS Interactive and CBS Studios International divisions. The firm also operates a separate OTT service for its cablenet Showtime, currently also only available in the US.

“CBS All Access is growing faster than we anticipated domestically and now represents a whole new opportunity internationally as well,” said Leslie Moonves, chairman and CEO at CBS Corporation.

“By going direct-to-consumer around the world, we will facilitate new connections between the global audience and our industry-leading premium content. I look forward to introducing CBS All Access to Canada in early 2018, followed by a number of other markets in multiple continents around the world.”

CBS All Access launched in the US in October 2014 and is set to exceed more than four million subscribers combined by the end of this year.

The firm also expects to beat its previous estimation in 2016 that it would have eight million subscribers combined for its CBS and Showtime streaming services by 2020.

CBS All Access is available for US$5.99 per month and also offers CBSN, CBS News’s 24/7 streaming news service. A commercial-free option is available to subscribers for US$9.99 per month.

The international expansion plans were revealed as part of the network’s earnings for the second quarter of 2017, during which it said it had beat expectations, partly as a result of the return of Showtime drama Twin Peaks.

The company is also planning to launch a live sports streaming service, which is yet to be named.