Hulu has become the exclusive home of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, signing a multi-year agreement with CBS for the show’s exclusive subscription VOD rights. It’s the first time that CSI has been licensed to such a service.
The rights include all previous seasons of CSI. For further details, follow the jump.
HULU ACQUIRES EXCLUSIVE SUBSCRIPTION VIDEO ON DEMAND RIGHTS TO CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
Multi-Year Agreement With CBS Marks the First Time the Award-Winning Crime Drama Has Ever Been Licensed to an SVOD Service
SANTA MONICA, CA (February 19, 2015) – Hulu has acquired the exclusive subscription video on demand (SVOD) rights to all previous seasons of CBS’s award-winning, critically acclaimed crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, it was announced today by Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins, and Scott Koondel, Chief Corporate Content Licensing Officer for CBS Corporation. All episodes will be available for streaming on Hulu with a Plus subscription beginning early April.
Through the multi-year agreement, Hulu subscribers will be able to stream more than 300 episodes and all complete past seasons of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Hulu also becomes the exclusive SVOD home to all episodes of the series, and will add full libraries of past seasons ahead of future series premieres. The deal marks the first time CSI: Crime Scene Investigation has ever been licensed to an SVOD service.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation premiered in the fall of 2000 with big ratings, ground-breaking production values and a storytelling form that influenced a generation of crime dramas. The series ranked as television’s number one drama for seven seasons and became a global phenomenon, earning the title of the “most-watched show in the world” on five separate occasions, most recently in 2012. CSI has also developed into major a franchise for CBS, spawning three television spin-offs, books, video games and CSI: The Experience, an interactive educational exhibit about forensic science that travels around the world.
“CSI is one of the most popular television franchises in the world and we could not be more thrilled to make all episodes available to Hulu subscribers,” said Craig Erwich, Senior Vice President and Head of Content, Hulu. “This deal not only represents a huge growth in our offering of premium content, but it also represents an expansion in our partnership with CBS. We look forward to working with CBS to continue making some of the best shows on television available for viewers to stream on more screens in the future.”
“The original series from the most successful franchise in television history has been licensed to the SVOD market for the first time,” said Koondel. “This agreement and previous deals with our partners at Hulu further validates how well CBS procedural dramas perform on subscription services. And, at a time when the CBS Television Network is getting ready to premiere the next generation of the CSI franchise with CSI: Cyber, it’s very exciting to make available all 14 seasons of the show that started it all to Hulu subscribers and CSI’s passionate fan base.”
Hulu will also soon become the exclusive SVOD home to all previous seasons of the CBS crime drama Elementary.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation joins more than 5,300 library episodes of popular CBS programming added to Hulu last year in an expanded licensing deal with the Network. In separate deals, Hulu acquired non-exclusive subscription streaming rights to previous seasons of The Good Wife and the police procedural Blue Bloods.
About Hulu
Hulu is a premium streaming TV destination that seeks to captivate and connect viewers with the stories they love by creating amazing experiences that celebrate the best of entertainment and technology. As we pursue this mission, we strive to continue to redefine and reinvent the TV-viewing experience. www.hulu.com
About CBS Corporation
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 Global Distribution Group (CBS Studios International and CBS Television Distribution), CBS Consumer Products, CBS Home Entertainment, CBS Films, CBS Interactive, 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.