CBS Signs New Carriage Agreement With Verizon

CBS said it signed a new multi-year carriage agreement with Verizon Communications.

The deal includes retransmission consent for the CBS-owned TV stations and CBS-owned CW affiliates, as well as distribution of Showtime, Smithsonian Channel and CBS Sports Network on Verizon’s Fios TV.

Verizon will also enable subscribers to access streaming video on CBS.com, the CBS app and Verizon’s authenticated platform. The agreement also includes expansion onto future digital platforms.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

"We are very pleased to expand our terrific partnership with Verizon,” said Ray Hopkins, president of Television Networks Distribution, CBS Corporation. “The renewal of our Fios content carriage agreement for various CBS networks and our expanded rights for future digital platforms is in line with our Company’s strategy to deliver industry-leading content to viewers across multiple platforms and screens, while also achieving both our short and long-term economic goals.”

“With every carriage agreement we focus on achieving an outcome that best serves Fios customers based on the way they view today and the way they may want to view tomorrow, including across future digital platforms,” said Brian Angiolet, senior VP of product and new business at Verizon. “Providing customers with choice remains at the core of all of our video offerings, and this agreement with CBS fits squarely into our strategy of expanding rights to fill out our emerging vertically integrated media portfolio.”

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.