NEW YORK, March 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon
Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) and CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and
CBS) have announced a new multiyear content carriage agreement that
includes continued retransmission consent of CBS-owned television
stations, including CBS-owned The CW affiliates, in multiple
markets across the country as well as distribution of the popular
entertainment and sports channels SHOWTIME®, Smithsonian Channel™
and CBS Sports Network on Verizon Fios TV.
In the near future, Verizon will also provide access to live
authenticated streaming on CBS.com, the CBS App and Verizon's
authenticated platform, giving Verizon Fios' TV customers the
ability to stream CBS live online and on mobile devices. In
addition, CBS and Verizon have agreed to expand the partnership to
future digital platforms, with specifics to be released at a later
date. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are very pleased to expand our terrific partnership with
Verizon," said Ray Hopkins,
President, 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, SVP Product and New Business,
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."
CBS-owned stations in Verizon Fios markets, including
New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore and Pittsburgh, and CBS-owned The CW affiliates in
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, will continue to be distributed to
Fios TV subscribers. This includes over three million subscribers
served in markets where CBS owns television stations and almost one
million subscribers in markets where CBS owns The CW affiliates.
(Fios has approximately 4.7 million subscribers in total.) Fios TV
will also continue to provide – free to the viewer – Network video
on demand for the Fios TV platform, plus the continued carriage of
the CBS networks named above.
About Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE,
Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York
City, has a diverse workforce of 160,900 and generated
nearly $126 billion in 2016 revenues.
Verizon operates America's most reliable wireless network, with
114.2 million retail connections nationwide. The company also
provides communications and entertainment services over mobile
broadband and the nation's premier all-fiber network, and delivers
integrated business solutions to customers worldwide.
About CBS
CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) is a
mass media company that creates and distributes industry-leading
content across a variety of platforms to audiences around the
world. The Company has businesses with origins that date back to
the dawn of the broadcasting age as well as new ventures that
operate on the leading edge of media. CBS owns the most-watched
television network in the U.S. and one of the world's largest
libraries of entertainment content, making its brand — "the Eye" —
one of the most recognized in business. The Company's operations
span virtually every field of media and entertainment, including
cable, publishing, radio, local TV, film, and interactive and
socially responsible media. CBS's businesses include CBS Television
Network, The CW (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner
Bros. Entertainment), CBS Television Studios, CBS Studios
International, CBS Television Distribution, CBS Consumer Products,
CBS Home Entertainment, CBS Interactive, CBS Films, Showtime
Networks, CBS Sports Network, Pop (a joint venture between CBS
Corporation and Lionsgate), Smithsonian Networks, Simon &
Schuster, CBS Television Stations, CBS Radio and CBS EcoMedia. For
more information, go to www.cbscorporation.com.
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SOURCE CBS Corporation