CBS Increases Stakes in Streaming News Wars: Top Anchors Take on New Shows

Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly were journalism visionaries whose moves at CBS in the 1950s continue to define that company’s news division. Even though they might not be aware of the direction some of their ideas are going, it is possible to imagine them being surprised.

CBS News will revive two iconic programs that were created under the auspices one or both of these broadcasters. “Person to Person”And “CBS Reports,”But retooled to work in the streaming era. Norah O’Donnell will launch a new “Person to Person”Gayle King will launch a new series that includes one-on-one interviews of newsmakers and other people of interest. “CBS Reports”Documentaries and special reports will air on February 25, with an in-depth look into Trayvon Martin’s death. Both series will be broadcast on CBS News Steaming Network. It is part of an extensive overhaul and expansion of the broadband media hub CBSN, which debuted in 2014.

“Streaming is an iterative process,” says Neeraj Khemlani, co-president of ViacomCBS’ news and stations unit, in an interview, “You’ve got to keep investing.”

ViacomCBS has redesigned its streaming platform. It will not only include many of the CBS reporters who have been known for reporting linearly, but it will also feature thousands of hours from local CBS stations across major markets from New York to Miami and Detroit. New York’s new studio was also created by ViacomCBS to stream live news segments. CBS News loads new firepower for streaming as the media sector starts to battle in earnest for news aficionados and information seekers who now won’t wait to watch something unfold on traditional TV, but instead expect details with the click of a smartphone.

According to a Pew Research study, 84% of U.S. adults receive at least some news via a smartphone, tablet or computer. 51% do it frequently. This is the group that receives news via such devices. “continues to outpace those who get news from television,”Pew Research.

“We simply have to meet audiences where they are,”Wendy McMahon (co-president, news and stations), in an interview

Rivals are also trying to do the same. WarnerMedia’s CNN expects to launch a new subscription-based outlet, CNN Plus, in weeks to come, and NBCUniversal, which already features channels devoted to news from NBC News, MSNBC and “Today,” recently announced that its Peacock streaming hub would incorporate streams from the company’s local stations in Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and Miami, with streams from others to be added in months to come. NBC News and Disney’s ABC have a regular evening lineup of bespoke shows for their streaming venues and Fox Corp.’s Fox News Media has launched both Fox Weather, a streaming service that puts local weather detail, granular data and national reports all in a single app, and the subscription-based Fox Nation.

CBS however was the first. As it was initially conceived, the broadband operation was a bid to create a ready news infrastructure for the company without the expense of a cable system. CBSN was populated largely by regular viewers. “wheel”Although the news content is still the most important, the company launched a morning program and a political-news program. “Red & Blue.”CBSN aired stories from the CBS morning programs, “CBS Evening News,”It was seen as an independent venture from CBS News.

You can’t wait any longer. In addition to O’Donnell, CBS News correspondents Tony Dokoupil, Michelle Miller and Steve Hartman are among those who will begin anchoring programs on the streaming service. Tracy Smith and Lee Cowan are well-known from “CBS Sunday Morning,”It will bring you success “Here Comes Central Recorder,”A weekly half-hour show that highlights the top moments from Sunday A.M. Doukoupil anchors. “The Uplift,”These stories will be highlighted in the Miller Report. Miller will anchor. “Eye On America,”This half-hour show examines the American way of life. The show will also include “Climate Watch” segments from CBS News staffers like Ben Tracy, while Hartman will lead a streaming edition of the popular “On The Road”Charles Kuralt originally launched segments

Though CBS News mainstays ranging from O’Donnell to Scott Pelley have contributed to streaming in the past, this new move ensures their work will be more sustained, not piecemeal. “There’s a sea change here,”Khemlani. “When digital first started, it was sort of in the corner. Now everyone wants to be part of this.”

CBS News will offer a weekly lineup of news for streaming each evening on a weeknight. Users can stream the news at 6 p.m. “Red & Blue,” which will make expanded use of CBS News’ team of Washington correspondents and reporters. Live news hours will be hosted from New York and Los Angeles at 7 p.m. From 8 p.m. until 10 p.m., some of the most recent original programs will be shown along with content from elsewhere. “48 Hours”And “60 Minutes.”Rebroadcast “CBS Evening News,” anchored by O’Donnell, follows at 10 p.m.

While national news gets many headlines, the company believes the growing amount of programing from its local stations is going to play a large role in keeping viewers engaged. McMahon says that WWJ Detroit will produce more hours of streaming content than linear broadcast. By 2022, the company will have 14 local streams that provide 45,000 hours of news and weather programming. McMahon states that McMahon could broadcast local high-school sports matches, as well as other programming targeted at specific cities or communities.

According to executives, the stations will offer more coverage than just the events that are happening in their area. They will also cover news that becomes part of the national media cycle. “Every story is a local story, “says McMahon. “It’s a saying because there’s truth in it.”Coverage of important trials or natural disasters can be quickly made news, increasing the viewing time.

“This user experience that we have in place does a brilliant and really intuitive job of alerting you to content, to breaking news, to big stories as they happen, and enables you to shift seamlessly from one channel to another, from national to local and back again,”McMahon.

Older material may be available to streamers who use the retooled streaming service. You may also have the chance to receive “pop-up channels”Khemlani says that it is possible to create feature work using CBS News archives around certain events. Such a venture might feature interviews and news segments from the company’s decades of newsgathering, and old video, the executive says, is “being digitized at a rapid pace.”

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