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The COVID-19 lockdowns helped generate wide speculation that linear TV will reach an inflection point, with digital viewership outpacing its ratings, sooner than predicted. OTT consumption certainly soared at the outset of the pandemic, but even if such numbers are sustained, or continue to grow incrementally, digital probably won’t put a nail in linear TV’s coffin for quite some time — it’s still the go-to for live broadcasts.
“I wouldn’t let this year be the data by which we write the history of live events,” said Radha Subramanyam, chief research and analytics officer at CBS Corp. and president of CBS Vision. “The live experience is very, very special; Americans are always looking for live.”
Subramanyam’s remarks came in Tuesday’s keynote interview at TVNewsCheck’s TV2025: Monetizing the Future conference. Speaking with TVNewsCheck Editor Michael Depp, Subramanyam said in spite of the OTT surge and all the challenges that come with live production today, CBS has recently enjoyed two of its best NFL Sunday ratings in about a half decade.
She added that viewers of CBS All Access still tend to tune into the live stream over the VOD options, with sports as well as news — so crucial to consumers right now — operating as “key anchors within [CBS’s] larger OTT strategy.”
Depp asked Subramanyam about the dizzying array of options consumers have in digital, and where the announced rebranding of CBS All Access to Paramount Plus fits into the fold.
“There’s a lot of potential for a sort of