• by Wayne Friedman , August 25, 2015

CBS has made a wide-ranging content cable carriage agreement with Cablevision Systems Corp.-- including a first-ever distribution deal for CBS All Access, the over-the-top digital TV service.

The deal, which also covers its first distribution deal for Showtime Internet Service, includes carriage agreement for CBS-owned TV stations, Showtime, CBS Sports Network and Smithsonian Channel.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Tom Montemagno, executive vp of programming, Cablevision, said in a press release: “As the first distributor to agree to provide CBS’ new Internet services, Cablevision continues to expand its portfolio of next-generation offerings, connecting customers to the programming they value when and where they want it.”

CBS' TV stations now are estimated to get nearly $2 a month per subscriber from its distribution partners. CBS executives say overall the company is on pace to pull in some $2 billion per year by 2020.

SNL Kagan says broadcast TV stations are projected to earn $6.3 billion in retransmission fees in 2015, and earnings will reach $9.8 billion by 2020. TV stations are forecast to earn an average fee of $1.53/month per subscriber from pay TV providers by 2018, according to SNL Kagan. 

ESPN is still the leader when it comes to all channels that pay TV provider buy -- spending $6.61 per subscriber per month, and projected to go $8.81 in three years.