CBS Evening News to be Simulcast

 
By Heather Long August 20, 2006



On the evening of September 5, CBS will become the first network to simulcast its evening news broadcast online. This online debut is tied in with the debut of Katie Couric as the anchor of the Evening News.

The broadcast networks have all been pushing their way into the Internet over the last two years in order to capture the online audience that looks for their news on the web rather than on television. Currently, ABC streams a unique Internet only World News in the mid-afternoon. NBC makes their Nightly News available after it's aired on television.

CBS plans on delivering their Evening News to both their television and online audiences at the same time in order to take advantage of both demographics. While there is some resistance remaining in the network arena of competing against themselves in the two mediums, the simple fact is that giving the online audience access to the Evening News via their computers is likely to net them a wider audience than re-broadcasting after the fact.

Online audiences prefer to view their programs at their convenience and on their computers. Those who prefer to watch on television will still do that and the Internet broadcasts are unlikely to hurt their advertising share. So the ultimate winner is the audience and CBS looks to be playing a winning hand on this one.

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