The streaming service will have a few built-in advantages over competitors looking to launch similar services, as it will be the new home of popular catalog series such as Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown and Conan Without Borders, all of which used to reside on HBOMax.
The network has also recruited notable talent such as former NBC News correspondent Kasie Hunt, former Fox News journalist Chris Wallace and New York Times food writer Alison Roman to star in programs. Eva Longoria will be the actress and activist Eva Longoria in Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico, a food-centric companion piece to Tucci's docuseries.
It does have a number of selling points that might make it attractive to some viewers, starting with the fact that it is always hard to argue with free.
The streamer has a new version of the Person to Person interview series hosted by Norah O Donnell, and Gayle King will anchor a series of documentary projects from CBS Reports, which will launch on February 25 with a look into the 10th anniversary of the killing of Trayvon Martin.
The contracts for both anchors were reportedly due to expire this spring, but it would seem CBS convinced them to stick around.
CBS News said its channels had 1 billion streams for the second year in a row in 2021 and that the endeavor worked out well.
Since CBS launched its streamer, other news outlets followed. Comcast's CMCSA Get Free Report NBC has streaming channels devoted to NBC News, MSNBC and Today, and the more pop-culture oriented streaming service Peacock includes streams from local stations in Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and Miami. Walt Disney's DIS -- Get Free Report ABC has a line-up of shows for its ABC News streaming service as well.