CBS Sells 'CSI' SVOD Rights

CBS said it sold the steaming rights to its long-running CSI series to a streaming video distributor.

Speaking on CBS’ earnings call, CEO Les Moonves declined to name the SVOD partner for the show. He said an announcement would be made soon.

The sale would mark an evolution of CBS’ streaming strategy because up till now, it has licensed recent serialized shows for streaming.

With about 300 episodes produced, the revenue from streaming for CSI is expected to be considerable.

”We’re just beginning to license non-serialized shows,” Moonves said. “Imagine how lucrative this will be.”

During the conference call, Moonves also talked about selling ads during the next Super Bowl after this year’s big game set viewership records. “$5 to $6 million sound pretty good to me,” he said. NBC sold spots for $4.5 million.

Mooves also said that subscriptions to the CBS All Access streaming product were selling “faster than we expected,” though he didn’t disclose specific numbers. He said sales surged around the Grammys. Subscribers to All Access are younger than the network’s broadcast viewers, he said.

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.