CBS, Yahoo! Ink 60 Minutes Deal
CBS’s 60 Minutes kicks off its 39th season this fall with a partnership that will bring the news magazine’s content to Yahoo users for free.
In a new deal, a Yahoo microsite at News.yahoo.com/60minutes will carry two news packages following the Sunday night broadcast of the 60 Minutes program. One package will expand on a segment featured that week, and the second will be based on a topical news theme scheduled for that week. Both packages will include video footage and interactive elements such as maps, a reporter’s notebook, blogs and photo galleries.
“This deal with Yahoo will bring the rich storytelling of television’s number one news magazine to a new and younger audience while offering loyal viewers extended features and content online,” said Sean McManus, president, CBS news and sports, in a statement. “We believe this is an important step toward establishing 60 Minutes as the news magazine of the future.”
Financial terms of the current deal were not disclosed.
When the service launches this fall, users can access 60 Minutes content throughout Yahoo, including on its news, sports and entertainment sites, as well as the microsite. Special previews of the online offering began yesterday with a rare interview with Tiger Woods.
“This is a perfect example of the type of agreement Yahoo will like to strike with media companies in the future,” said Brian Nelson, spokesperson at Santa Monica, CA-based Yahoo Media Group. “This helps traditional media build an incredible online audience while at the same time extending their brand and their reach online…and gives our users the best content.”
With the deal, Yahoo will leverage its 126 million monthly domestic users with 60 Minutes’ 14 million weekly viewers.
“We are thrilled to be bringing 60 Minutes’ to an Internet powerhouse like Yahoo,” said Larry Kramer, president of CBS digital media, in a statement. “This offering underscores our strategy of bringing our best content, whether it’s news, sports or entertainment, to every possible platform. Working with Yahoo to create a robust and unique microsite exposes our news content to a broader audience of online users.”
This is the second online partnership between Yahoo and CBS. In December, Yahoo streamed full episodes of CBS comedies Two and a Half Men and How I Met Your Mother.
