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May 2015

CBS Sports App Launches on Apple TV, But Without Live Streaming…Yet

By Sports app

CBS Sports just joined Apple TV this week. It joins 120 Sports, ACC, ESPN, MLB.TV, MLS, NBA, NBC Sports, NFL Now, NHL, Tennis Channel and WWE Network for sports content on the set-top box. However, for most other apps, CBS’s app is more of a short-form clip channel and there’s no live streaming.

CBS has the rights to college basketball and football games, specifically SEC football, the NCAA Tournament, NFL (AFC Sunday Afternoon and Thursday Night Football), PGA Tour as well as The Masters and PGA Championship. It has the rights to stream most of its content online as it has done on CBS Sports’ mobile and tablet apps. And while it didn’t air regular-season NFL games, it opted to upload post-season NFL games, including Super Bowl XLVII from New Orleans.

The CBS Sports Apple TV app does not have live streaming of CBS Sports Network programming because so far the network has not launched a “TV Everywhere” initiative unlike ESPN, Fox and NBC. There are music videos from Boomer & Carton, Doug Gottlieb and the now-defunct ROME, as well as original content including some fantastic information, but at least for now there’s no live programming.

Marc DeBevoise, executive vice president and general manager of sports, entertainment and news for CBS Interactive, told Awful Annoncing that while there are no live events on Apple TV and Roku apps from CBS Sports, that doesn’t mean there will be. t be long term. “We have nothing to announce at this time,” DeBevoise said, but said CBS is open to streaming events on the road. Reading the tea leaves, expect to see SEC Football and other games down the line, possibly as early as this fall.

DeBevoise said CBS can broadcast live events on its platforms, it’s just a matter of finding the right way to do it. He notes that unlike the NBC and ESPN apps, authentication is not required for CBS.

So as it stands, the CBS Sports app is not streaming live, but we’ll keep you posted on any changes.