Commercials have long been a part of CBS programming. Even when they launched CBS All Access, they included them to help keep the price low. However, following a recent trend, they have decided to launch an ad-free version of their popular service. According to Fortune Magazine and following cues from Hulu, CBS has come to realize that it’s viewers are willing to pay more money to not watch commercials.
Competition in the streaming industry has become stiff in the last few years. More and more viewers are dumping their cable and satellite subscriptions. In an effort to recapture customers, terrestrial TV channels have launched their own stand alone services. Hulu’s most popular tier was the limited commercials option. When Hulu dumped their free version, CBS paid attention.
CBS launched their All Access service in 2014 to answer rivals like Hulu and Netflix. However, they took some heat for having a heavy commercial load. Their streaming service allowed you to watch CBS programming for $5.99 a month. Much of the criticism settled down when CBS announced that their commercial free version would be $9.99 a month. That is $2 cheaper than Hulu.
Marc DeBevoise, president and COO of CBS Interactive stated “The foundation of CBS All Access is not only about giving CBS fans access to more of the content they want, but also giving them more choice in how they watch their favorite CBS programming.” His goal is to let the viewers decide whether or not they want to pay more money to be commercial free.
Ultimately, this is a great move by CBS. It is likely that some viewers will give CBS All Access a chance, since they do not have to watch commercials. CBS has great programming, and has for a long time. The ability to watch classic and current shows without commercials will be attractive to many viewers. It is possible we will see this type of transition with over services. If you want to watch CBS All Access outside the US, you can do so with a Smart DNS service.
