The long-term carriage agreement announced on Monday includes retransmission consent for CBS O&O stations on FiOs systems, but goes much further than that. Also include are expanded rights for network and local video on demand (VOD) and mobile rights for the Verizon Wireless V Cast video service.
"We are extremely pleased to have reached this broad long-term agreement that recognizes the value of our programming. Verizon subscribers will have continued access to the Number One TV network not only through FiOS TV, but also through V Cast on the mobile phone, which enhances our profile on a key emerging platform,” said CBS Corp. CEO Les Moonves.
Under the new agreement, Verizon has secured Mobile rights for full episodes of several top-rated CBS Entertainment and News programs, including shows from prime-time, daytime and the highly rated news program, "60 Minutes." Adding full episodes builds on the CBS content already available to Verizon Wireless V Cast subscribers.
The expanded agreements also provide national video-on-demand rights for programs in both standard and high definition format, including such leading shows as "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "NCIS," "Survivor," and "Numb3rs," as well as video-on-demand rights for local news, also in SD and HD.
And, Verizon will continue to offer CBS programming on Verizon FiOS TV, its all-digital fiber-optic TV service, which is available in parts of 14 states, and reaches more than 1.6 million subscribers.
"Verizon is focused on providing the most comprehensive and exciting entertainment to our customers across all our services and platforms. We’re pleased to extend our relationship with CBS, which helps us deliver the hit shows and compelling content our customers want to enjoy." said John Harrobin, Senior Vice President of Digital Media for Verizon.
