Verizon And CBS Corporation Announce Multiyear Content Carriage Agreement

NEW YORK, March 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) and CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) have announced a new multiyear content carriage agreement that includes continued retransmission consent of CBS-owned television stations, including CBS-owned The CW affiliates, in multiple markets across the country as well as distribution of the popular entertainment and sports channels SHOWTIME®, Smithsonian Channel™ and CBS Sports Network on Verizon Fios TV.

In the near future, Verizon will also provide access to live authenticated streaming on CBS.com, the CBS App and Verizon's authenticated platform, giving Verizon Fios' TV customers the ability to stream CBS live online and on mobile devices. In addition, CBS and Verizon have agreed to expand the partnership to future digital platforms, with specifics to be released at a later date. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"We are very pleased to expand our terrific partnership with Verizon," said Ray Hopkins, President, Television Networks Distribution, CBS Corporation. "The renewal of our Fios content carriage agreement for various CBS networks and our expanded rights for future digital platforms is in line with our Company's strategy to deliver industry-leading content to viewers across multiple platforms and screens, while also achieving both our short and long-term economic goals."

"With every carriage agreement we focus on achieving an outcome that best serves Fios customers based on the way they view today and the way they may want to view tomorrow, including across future digital platforms," said Brian Angiolet, SVP Product and New Business, Verizon. "Providing customers with choice remains at the core of all of our video offerings, and this agreement with CBS fits squarely into our strategy of expanding rights to fill out our emerging vertically integrated media portfolio."

CBS-owned stations in Verizon Fios markets, including New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore and Pittsburgh, and CBS-owned The CW affiliates in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, will continue to be distributed to Fios TV subscribers. This includes over three million subscribers served in markets where CBS owns television stations and almost one million subscribers in markets where CBS owns The CW affiliates. (Fios has approximately 4.7 million subscribers in total.) Fios TV will also continue to provide – free to the viewer – Network video on demand for the Fios TV platform, plus the continued carriage of the CBS networks named above.

About Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York City, has a diverse workforce of 160,900 and generated nearly $126 billion in 2016 revenues. Verizon operates America's most reliable wireless network, with 114.2 million retail connections nationwide. The company also provides communications and entertainment services over mobile broadband and the nation's premier all-fiber network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers worldwide.

About CBS
CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) is a mass media company that creates and distributes industry-leading content across a variety of platforms to audiences around the world. The Company has businesses with origins that date back to the dawn of the broadcasting age as well as new ventures that operate on the leading edge of media. CBS owns the most-watched television network in the U.S. and one of the world's largest libraries of entertainment content, making its brand — "the Eye" — one of the most recognized in business. The Company's operations span virtually every field of media and entertainment, including cable, publishing, radio, local TV, film, and interactive and socially responsible media. CBS's businesses include CBS Television Network, The CW (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), CBS Television Studios, CBS Studios International, CBS Television Distribution, CBS Consumer Products, CBS Home Entertainment, CBS Interactive, CBS Films, Showtime Networks, CBS Sports Network, Pop (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Lionsgate), Smithsonian Networks, Simon & Schuster, CBS Television Stations, CBS Radio and CBS EcoMedia. For more information, go to www.cbscorporation.com.

SOURCE CBS Corporation

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