USA Today: CBS and NBC delivered another hammer blow to the traditional TV economic model on Monday by agreeing to let some Comcast and DirecTV customers pay 99 cents to watch certain hit shows on demand and ad-free.
Viacom’s CBS struck a deal with Comcast that will make new episodes of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, NCIS, Survivor and The Amazing Race available to viewers who subscribe to its extra-cost digital service and live in markets served by network-owned CBS stations.
Comcast will offer the programs for 99 cents each shortly after they air on the West Coast. The reality shows, which typically don’t do well in repeats, will be available all season. Dramas will be available only until the next new episode airs, but viewers with digital video recorders (DVR) can save copies.
“This is a major breakthrough. It’s a precedent,” says Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. “We’re moving to personalized television. That’s the strategy Comcast has bet on.”
CBS Chairman Leslie Moonves was equally upbeat. He says the video-on-demand (VOD) showings offer “an additional revenue stream without affecting the mother lode” from advertising.