Viewers like it live on new CBSN streaming TV channel
CBS has found a strong appetite for live content on its CBSN news channel.
Launched in November, the 24-7 ad-supported online streaming channel — with live anchors and on-demand video news — has been the top-ranked news outlet on Roku streaming video devices that connect to TVs, CBS announced Tuesday.
On average, viewers watched more than two hours per week on Roku. Overall, more than half of all CBSN streams (52%) were on connected TV devices, while 30% on personal computers and 17% on smartphones and tablets.
In addition to Roku players and Roku TV devices, CBSN is also currently available on CBSNews.com and its mobile website and CBS News apps for iOS and Windows 8.1. CBSN is expected to come to additional devices this year.
Among those viewers on connected TV devices who return to the site, 88% watch CBSN multiple times per week. "While we knew that Connected TV devices would be important drivers of usage for CBSN, we didn't anticipate just how engaged the viewers on those platforms would be, consuming over half of all streams and spending the longest amount of time per stream, while making up about a third of the overall audience," said Marc DeBevoise, CBS Interactive executive vice president and general manager of entertainment, sports and news.
Viewers watched live content over on-demand video by a margin of 3-to-1 and viewership crescendoed during major breaking news stories. Top stories in terms of viewership included the Ferguson, Mo. grand jury decision — during which live streams tripled — followed by the AirAsia Flight 8501 disappearance, the Sydney hostage situation and shooting, the attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, and developing U.S.-Cuba relations.
"One thing that's very encouraging is the variety of news stories which have drawn audiences to CBSN. Ferguson, Sydney, the State of the Union — important news developments drove viewership," said CBS News president David Rhodes in a comment delivered via email. "Also, there's pent-up demand for live news programming on connected devices — CBSN has given our news organization a new outlet to reach these audiences."