Skip to main content

CBS' internet TV service is now available on Roku

CBS' internet TV service is now available on Roku

Share this story

CBS's internet TV service is arriving on Roku today. For $5.99 a month, Roku owners will be able to subscribe to CBS All Access, which gives subscribers streams of many current and past CBS TV series and allows viewers to actually watch CBS as it's live on the air, so long as they're within certain areas. It's the exact service that people who want to ditch cable are looking for, making this an important grab for Roku. Though All Access has already been available on the web and through iOS and Android apps, the addition makes Roku — which already has a huge number of online channels — an even more compelling option for those looking for a device that'll let them cancel cable.

You can still only stream if you live in one of 14 markets

For now, CBS All Access' killer feature — the ability to watch CBS as it's airing live — is only available in 14 markets. That includes New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, Miami, Denver, Sacramento, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore. CBS says that more locations are coming "soon," but it doesn't mention where or exactly when. Notably, those live streams do not include NFL games, though other sports content is available.

CBS does mention that you can expect to see All Access on more platforms very soon. "The launch of the CBS All Access channel marks the first of many connected device platforms we’ll be bringing this service to in the coming months," Marc DeBevoise, a CBS Interactive exec, says in a statement. One would expect the Apple TV to be among those, but Apple has exclusives of its own for now: for the next three months, it's the only streaming box that's going to have HBO Now. There's a good chance that'll be more of a sales hook that CBS.