CBS adds 24/7 news from CBSN to its standalone streaming service, CBS All Access

CBS’ streaming service for cord cutters, CBS All Access, is rounding out its programming lineup by adding live, anchored new coverage and original reporting to its subscription service by way of CBSN. The 24/7 news channel will initially be offered to CBS All Access subscribers on desktop and laptop computers via CBS.com starting on August 3rd, with the ability to watch via other CBS All Access platforms, including mobile devices and connected TVs, arriving this fall.

CBS’ online news service, CBSN, first launched in November 2014, with the goal of increasing the distribution of CBS’ news content to digital platforms. The service continues to grow as cord cutting takes hold, with streams up 38 percent in the second quarter, compared with the same time last year, notes the network.

It makes sense that CBSN would be added to the network’s larger streaming service, given that its news coverage was already available via CBSNews.com, as well as the CBS News app for mobile and connected TV devices. After all, you shouldn’t have to switch between CBS’s apps just to watch CBSN’s news.

Prior to the CBSN addition, CBS All Access had a number of other news programs available, including via its live TV streams from affiliates which brought local and national news coverage to its service. It also streams its news programs like “CBS This Morning” and “CBS Evening News,” and offers on-demand access to its shows like “60 Minutes” and “48 Hours.”

Added to this, CBSN will offer live news and original reporting, including its more recent expansion of long-form, investigative reporting with its primetime summer series, “CBSN: On Assignment,” which launched on July 31 on the CBS TV network.

The move to integrate CBSN into the streaming service also comes just ahead of the Sunday, September 24th, premiere date for CBS All Access’ flagship TV series, “Star Trek: Discovery.”

The highly anticipated new show aims to leverage the Star Trek fandom to drive interest in the standalone streaming service, which is otherwise more of a hard sell in an era where quality, original programming is available to cord cutters and cable subscribers alike via Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO and others.

With the addition of CBSN, however, CBS All Access becomes a bit more compelling, as it taps into one of the missing components in many cord cutters’ existing lineups. Unless you also subscribe to a live TV service like Sling TV or DirecTV Now, it’s more difficult to tune into news programming as you once did as a cable TV subscriber.

While live TV services like Sling have a more robust selection of channels, CBS All Access is an affordable way to just tack on access to live local news, nightly news, and now, 24/7 news, too.

The CBS streaming service itself costs $6/month or $10/month, for its ad-supported and commercial-free tiers, respectively, if you buy directly from CBS. Another dollar is added to subscriptions coming in through iOS devices, as CBS aims to make up for Apple’s cut of its subscription revenue.

In addition to CBSN’s integration with CBS All Access, the company also announced a distribution deal that will make CBSN available for the first time to a multi-channel video distributor.

The sports-focused streaming service fuboTV, which has been recently adding on non-sports channels, will carry CBSN as part of a larger deal to offer CBS channels, including CBS, CBS Sports Network, The CW, and Pop.