Potential ‘Scale’ of CBS Direct-to-Consumer Platforms Is ‘Huge,’ Says CFO

CBS is standing by its forecast of signing 8 million paid subscribers combined for its CBS All Access and Showtime over-the-top direct-to-consumer services in 2019, “a full year ahead of our original schedule,” said President-Acting CEO Joe Ianniello on a Thursday Q3 earnings call. The forecast doesn’t include direct-to-consumer subs CBS is just beginning to sign on internationally, including for its Australian service, 10 All Access, launching this quarter, he said. “We will continue to expand into new territories in 2019, and we’re confident that digital distribution on a global scale will be very lucrative.” The “world of OTT has opened up so many options with what we can do with data analytics and really unlock and target our marketing,” said Chief Financial Officer Christina Spade. “As we get further educated and learn more about our consumer” through the CBS All Access and Showtime OTT offerings, “the scale of the business is huge,” she said. CBSN, the network’s 24/7 ad-supported news service, is averaging more than a million daily streams, said Ianniello. The average age of the CBSN viewer is 38, “decades younger than the average broadcast and cable news viewer,” he said. Later in Q4, "local versions" of CBSN will debut, “featuring content from our owned and operated stations across the country,” starting with New York, with Los Angeles and other markets to be added in early 2019, he said.