Pay TV providers have option to offer new CBS streaming service

By Lisa Richwine

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - CBS Corp is offering pay television providers the option to add the new CBS All Access streaming service to the packages they sell to consumers, Chief Executive Leslie Moonves said in an interview on Thursday.

Earlier on Thursday, CBS launched the digital video-on-demand and live-streaming services in an effort to win viewers who are increasingly turning to the Internet for entertainment.

Cable and satellite TV providers can gain access to the service for "considerably less" per subscriber than the $5.99 that consumers will pay to sign up for the product directly, Moonves said.

"If (pay TV providers) are interested in having the access to all these episodes of all these shows, plus the live linear feed for mobile devices ... they can get it," Moonves said.

"We would be very happy to work with them on this and we assume we will," he added.

The exact price has not been determined, he said.

CBS and other media companies are trying to reach consumers on the Internet while maintaining their relationships with traditional pay TV providers, also known as multichannel video programming distributors or MVPDs, that pay lucrative fees for their content.

"Our goal is not to hurt the MVPDs," Moonves said. "We think that business model works very well. We want it to continue to work. We hope they join in on this idea."

CBS All Access will offer episodes of 15 of the network's prime-time shows a day after they air on TV, plus past seasons of eight current series, including "The Good Wife," "Blue Blood" and "Survivor," and classics such as "Star Trek" and "CSI: Miami."

Live streaming will be available in 14 markets, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

(Editing by Matthew Lewis)