Following on the heels of HBOGO and the CBS entertainment network, comes the launch of CBSN, a streaming network, which is yet another nail in the coffin of bundled cable and satellite. Available today on the Web, as well as through “Amazon Fire TV, Roku and the CBS News app for Windows 8/8.1 and Windows Phone 8/8.1,” CBSN offers everything a cable news network does.
For those of us tired of paying an arm and a leg for bundled cable and satellite packages that include dozens of channels we never watch, streaming services from Netflix and Amazon (which cost about a tenth as much) are a godsend. Two major drawbacks to cutting the cable cord, though, have been a desire for live sports and news.
CBSN, which is currently live from 9 am to midnight ET Monday thru Friday, can fill that hole, and do so in a way previously unavailable outside of an obnoxiously expensive cable package. CBSN is a live-streaming news outlet that plays just like a cable news network.
Oh, and it’s free. Moreover, being able to stream it easily on your television through Roku or Amazon Fire TV is a very smart move.
Along with the subscription-based streaming packages announced by the CBS broadcast network and HBO, it is becoming obvious that the reality of the shrinking number of bundled television subscribers is forcing mainstream content providers to offer their wares online. This is the death spiral for bundled cable and satellite because the reasons to hold onto that expensive bundled television package are now falling away faster than many of us expected.
As far as sports, sometime next year Dish intends to launch a $30 online package that includes ESPN.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC
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