"This really brings a lot of young audience to the table," Bob Bakish told an investors conference about adding another 15,000 hours of CBS and Viacom content to the streaming service.
ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish detailed changes to CBS All Access, including 15,000 hours of new Viacom and CBS programming and sports content, as he discussed a planned relaunch in 2021 of the streaming service on Tuesday.
"The second part of our strategy is to transform All Access into a super service," Bakish told the Credit Suisse Annual Virtual Communications Conference during a session that was webcast. As ViacomCBS drives deeper into the streaming space, including with other offerings like Pluto TV and Showtime OTT, planned changes to CBS All Access include new programming from Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, the Smithsonian Networks and Paramount Network.
Bakish added his Hollywood studio will add another 15,000 hours of on-demand TV and film content to All Access on top of the 15,000 hours of content already on the streaming service. "We have a good position in the older segment with the current All Access product, but this really brings a lot of young audience to the table," he insisted.
All Access will also gain a "critical mass of live sports" content, including PGA golf and NFL games, to be added to the existing array of sci-fi, comedy, reality TV, kids and procedural programming. In February, Bakish first talked about a "House of Brands" streaming service to grow the CBS All Access service by adding content from both Viacom and CBS.
But appearing at the Credit Suisse investors conference, he detailed new content for All Access, including sports and entertainment content from both global, national and local sources. The expanded streamer will offer CBS News, including around 200 local CBS TV stations, and the CBSN, Sports HQ and ET Live services.
The increasing investment in All Access comes as rivals like Walt Disney, HBO and Comcast continue to roll out direct-to-consumer streaming services in the U.S. and internationally to target cord-cutters in a fast-changing media landscape.
Also Tuesday, Bakish was asked about the TV advertising climate amid the pandemic. He called April as the bottom of the domestic ad market, with May and June having improved sequentially.
"Digital is improving week over week and Pluto TV's right back on track to pre-COVID," he added.
