CBS News Plans Streaming Overhaul With New ‘Whip-Around’ Program

Brian Steinberg
·4 min read
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CBS News is ready to launch a new salvo in TV’s streaming wars.

With many of its rivals bolstering their streaming offerings in recent months, CBS News plans to broaden its efforts by debuting a new signature “whip-around” live-streamed program, “CBS News 24/7” that will rely on journalists both from the national news outlet as well as from CBS local stations — and serve as the new name of the broadband outlet. CBS will also expand current streaming programs led by anchor John Dickerson and the CBS News Washington bureau and launch a 1 a.m. program called “CBS News Roundup” for late-night viewing.

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“CBS News 24/7 is a decidedly ambitious evolution of our streaming efforts,” said Wendy McMahon, president and CEO of a unit that comprises CBS News, local stations and syndication, in a statement. “Data backs up our bet on a fresh, timely, and distinctive approach to breaking news and live coverage. Our audiences crave it, and we’re in the best position to deliver it.”

The moves represent some of the most significant from McMahon, who was given sole oversight of CBS News, the company’s stations and its syndication business in August of last year. She is one of a group of business executives who have been handed the reins of news operations at traditional media companies, which are testing new strategies for their reliable newscasts in an era when viewers are dispersing to a panoply of new streaming options.

The idea is to broaden the reach for news while keeping costs down, and much of that is being made possible by marrying national news divisions with local newsrooms in place at various stations the media conglomerates own. Disney recently placed news and stations under a single executive, Debra OConnell, while NBCUniversal has set Cesar Conde over NBC News, local stations and the Spanish-language Telemundo outlet.

Once known as CBSN, then CBS Streaming, CBS’ live-streamed news offering surfaced well ahead of efforts from rivals. In recent years, however, NBC News, CNN, Fox News Channel and ABC News have all worked to ramp up streaming content for news aficionados. NBC News has launched hours led by anchors including Kate Snow and Tom Llamas, some of which have made it into the daytime schedule of the company’s broadcast network. CNN is trying to simulcast multiple hours from its flagship cable network to viewers of its Max streaming hub. Whether cable distributors object likely won’t be known unless carriage talks grow contentious. And Fox News has broadened its aperture for Fox Nation, a subscription-based streaming outlet that relies heavily on documentary series, comedy and even movies, along with the conservative programming that is so much a part of its brand.

As the 2024 election draws near, CBS News plans to beef up its domestic operations, including the placement of personnel in some regions where it has not previously maintained a presence. Some cities that could be included are Cleveland, Des Moines, San Antonio, Raleigh and Tampa. These potential “news hubs” will help CBS News respond more quickly to stories and bring to the surface perspectives from different parts of the U.,S.

Executives see the new “whip-around” format – which takes viewers to whatever seems most pressing or important – as the backbone of the service. The concept has already proven popular in sports, where the NFL RedZone cable network takes subscribers from one interesting play to the next across the league on any given in-season Sunday. NBC recently unveiled plans to use a “whip-around” concept as the backbone of its Olympics coverage on its Peacock streaming hub, in a new “Gold Zone” program hosted in part by “RedZone” anchor Scott Hanson.

CBS plans to use augmented and virtual-reality concepts during the live show, which will air in one-hour blocks. Anchors have not been publicly revealed.

Two programs already in place are set for expansion. “America Decides,” a weekday look at Washington news and politics, will expand to an hour from 30 minutes on April 22. John Dickerson’s early-evening “Primetime” newscast will expand to 90 minutes from an hour in weeks to come, and the show will be renamed “The Daily Report With John Dickerson.”

A new show focused on disinformation, “CBS News Confirmed,” will debut this summer. CBS News earlier on Tuesday said it had hired Melissa Mahtani, who had previously been a producer at CNN, as executive producer of a new “Confirmed” unit that seeks to identify and fight the spread of false stories, conspiracy theories and bad facts.

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