CBS All Access Launching in Canada in “First Half of 2018”

CBS All Access is the company’s digital subscription service that goes directly to consumers, offering video on-demand and live streaming. The company announced yesterday the service—which launched in the U.S. back in fall 2014—is coming to Canada during the “first half of 2018”, part of a global expansion.

The service currently offers over 9,000 episodes on-demand, including past and present series for daytime, primetime and late night, along with original programming. CBSN is also included, which is the company’s 24/7 streaming news service.

Leslie Moonves, Chairman and CEO, CBS Corporation, said in a press release, “By going direct-to-consumer around the world, we will facilitate new connections between the global audience and our industry-leading premium content. I look forward to introducing CBS All Access to Canada in early 2018, followed by a number of other markets in multiple continents around the world.”

CBS says All Access is on pace to surpass 4 million subscribers combined in the U.S., which includes SHOWTIME’s direct-to-consumer offering.

Customers can access CBS All Access through the CBS iOS app, Apple TV, Android, Windows 10, on Roku Players, Chromecast, Android TV, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Fire TV. U.S. pricing is set at $5.99 per month, with a commercial-free option for $9.99 USD per month. Canadian pricing has not been announced, but will come “at a future date.”

Canadians and others outside the U.S. won’t be able to watch the CBS flagship show, Star Trek: Discovery, as Netflix has rights to the new series overseas in 188 countries, reports TechCrunch.

Bell Media owns the rights to Star Trek: Discovery in Canada, so unless you are subscribed to the Space channel or CraveTV, you won’t be able to watch the new Star Trek series.

Anyone interested in subscribing to CBS All Access when it launches in Canada? You’d have to be a die-hard CBS fan for this, it seems.