CBS All Access President Marc DeBevoise on the “Holy Grail” of CBS

A lot of attention has been paid to how streaming has bettered the audience experience, but it’s been revolutionary for businesses as well. Traditional networks like CBS now have a direct line to premium customers as well as a plethora of data about what they will and will not watch… And the best part? In the case of CBS All Access, those customers are paying for the experience.

In a wide-ranging interview at the Television Critics Association‘s 2018 summer tour, Decider sat down with President and Chief Operating Officer of CBS Interactive Marc DeBevoise to talk about the streaming service that CBS’ COO recently dubbed “the Holy Grail.” He discussed CBS All Access’ lofty growth plans, how the streaming service utilizes event-based subscriber sign-ups, and what goes into the decision to renew the service’s lesser known original series.

At TCA 2018, DeBevoise reported that CBS All Access currently has 2.5 million subscribers. That number indicates, “nearly 100 percent year over year growth,” he said. “Our original goal was to hit 4 million by 2020. It looks like we’re going to hit 4 million in 2019, which is great, it’s ahead of schedule. And on our earnings call this past week management set a new target for us, which is now 8 million by 2022.”

Currently most of the streaming service’s content — anywhere from 9,000 to 10,000 episodes — are part of its library of older CBS shows. The remaining roughly 1,000 episodes are comprised of current seasons of CBS shows, live events, and CBS All Access originals. Though library content makes up the bulk of the streaming service, DeBevoise says that only about 20 percent of the consumption the streaming service sees comes from library titles.

“Seventy to 80 percent of the consumption is around what we call current content, either like an exclusive original from us, the live network feed, or something from a current season of daytime, late night, or primetime,” he said.

“A majority of our people haven’t [cut the cord],” he added.

Rather than using original or library content to primarily drive sign-ups, CBS All Access has seen success through its live events. “They really do drive some spikes and sign ups when those things happen. And then when we can convince those people to stay, to watch more of that content across devices or to sample one of our originals, that’s like part of the great mousetrap that we’ve built here that’s working really well,” he said. “So sports is a big part of it.”

Between its network parent’s content and focus on live programming, why bother with original content at all? The answer lies in exclusivity and anticipating audience demand.

At the moment DeBevoise sees the service’s original shows as a branch of its subscriber retention method. Whether or not a show is of interest to an audience CBS wants to pursue plays a major factor in whether or not it will be renewed. “We’re targeting different audiences with different things, and I think part of that is how do we bring those different audiences in and keep them in the service. So it’s not just did someone watch it? How much did they watch it? Did someone who wasn’t already in sign up for it? But also does it engage an audience we’re looking to engage,” he said. “Think of an NFL football fan and whether they would like The Good Fight more or No Activity more and [we] point them in that direction.”

As for how the service determines what shows to renew, the decision largely comes down to how many subscribers are starting the service to watch a series and how many already paying subscribers are “watching effectively one or more episodes of that show.” That’s how a show like No Activity, which received middling reviews and is far from being part of current conversations about must-watch TV, got a Season 2 renewal. At this point in the streaming service’s lifetime, it doesn’t matter if a show like No Activity is a wildly popular hit. If people are coming to CBS All Access for that series, it’s worth keeping around.

“It really is about subscribers and subscriber engagement when it comes down to it. And if we’re getting those two things, good things will keep coming,” he said.

Currently the tentpoles of CBS All Access original programming have been modern takes on established franchises. The Good Fight is a spinoff from the creators of The Good Wife; Star Trek: Discovery comes from one of the most beloved properties in pop culture; and the network has announced it will be doing a Twilight Zone reboot produced in part by Jordan Peele. But DeBevoise maintains that originals based on new intellectual property, like Strange Angel and the upcoming Tell Me a Story and One Dollar, are just as important to the service.

“I think we’d like to have a mix. We believe in the mix and that it’s really positive for the users to be exposed to new things. New hits have to be formed as well,” he said. “We really learned that [CBS All Access’ originals] are going to be long-term vehicles for us, not short-term vehicles.”