CBS All Access Gets Super Bowl Push

CBS used the ultimate broadcast, the Super Bowl, to promote its over-the-top subscription streaming service, CBS All Access.

Ironically, subscribers can’t watch the Super Bowl, or the spot, on All Access because the NFL and CBS couldn’t reach a rights deal. Subscribers have been directed to watch the game on TV or via CBSSports.com or on the CBS Sports app.

The 30-second spot was directed by Peter Farrelly of There’s Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber and produced by the CBS Marketing Group.

The CBS “Eye Guy” mascot appears in the spot at various locations, showing viewers can take the network’s programming with them. The spot also features Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On to get potential subscribers in the mood.

“What works in the Super Bowl? Comedy, iconic fuzzy characters and Motown music!” said George Schweitzer, president, CBS Marketing Group. “We blended all three to generate attention for CBS All Access and how you can ‘Get It On’ all devices everywhere.”

CBS says All Access gives subscribers access to more than 7,500 episodes on demand. But CBS has never said how many subscribers CBS All Access has.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.