CBS has rebranded and expanded its streaming news operation.
Launched in 2014, CBSN is now operating under the CBS News Streaming moniker. The free, ad-supported service presents fare from national and 13 local feeds, including CBS News Miami Steaming channel that bowed Jan. 24.
CBS News Streaming is available on more than 30 mobile, desktop and connected-TV platforms. It features content from across ViacomCBS Inc.'s CBS News operation, including "60 Minutes," "CBS Mornings," "CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell" and "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," as well as original fare.
CBS News Streaming will also integrate financial news from CBS News MoneyWatch, while CBS Sports HQ "News in 90" updates will air intermittently.
CBS News' national and streaming services in 2021 delivered more than 1 billion streams for the second year in a row. CBS stations' local streams jumped 37% in 2021 to the highest level in their history, although the company did not disclose the specific number.
When it debuted CBSN New York in December 2018, CBS became the first major media company to offer a local streaming news service. The New York-centric offering has subsequently been joined by channels in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Francisco, among others. A 14th local feed in Detroit is slated to debut later this year.
Elsewhere, the free, ad-supported service Haystack News said it expanded its relationship with Hearst Corp. beyond on-demand content selections. It will now include live news from 27 of Hearst's stations. Haystack, which has deals with more than 400 content providers, expects to have more than 50 live news offerings by month's end.
The news about CBS' and Haystack's streaming services follows last week's announcement that Peacock, NBCUniversal Media LLC's streaming service, has added NBC (US)-owned local news channels covering Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and South Florida. Channels covering New York and Los Angeles are slated to bow in the months ahead.
Meanwhile, Warner Media continues to gear up for the forthcoming launch of CNN+. The subscription-based service, which recently inked its first distribution deal with Comcast Corp., is expected to launch sometime before the end of the first quarter.