Speaking to investors, CBS CEO Leslie Moonves said the company continued to “surpass expectations” for its digital subscriber base.
The number of OTT subscribers in the US should reach eight million subscribers in 2019, a year earlier than planned. CBS has two premium OTT services available in the US, CBS All Access and Showtime.
“Based on our growth trajectory and the trends we see ahead, we are now predicting we will have 16 million subscribers from All Access and Showtime OTT by 2022,” Moonves said.
“In other words, we plan to double our initial goal in just two years. That doesn’t even include the subscribers we plan to generate internationally. We have had early success in Canada and we are now getting ready to expand into Australia.”
He also stressed the importance of the company owning its own content, as well as producing local content in all markets.
In addition to the premium OTT services, CBS also offers free-to-view OTT services CBSN, a rolling news channel, and CBS Sports HQ. Last week, the broadcaster announced plans to launch CBSN Local, a portfolio of 24/7 direct-to-consumer services.
In related news, the CBS board of directors announced last week that it had hired two law firms to investigate the allegations, after six women came forward with accusation that Moonves had made unwanted sexual advances.
