What is a CBS National Feed, and What Can You Watch on It if Your Local Affiliate Was Dropped on fuboTV?
Users of the live TV streaming service fuboTV got a bit of a letdown on Monday evening. Since a number of major CBS affiliates declined to accept a deal negotiated between Paramount Global and Fubo, fuboTV lost local CBS affiliates in 160 markets across the United States.
Fubo customers will now have access to a national feed of CBS instead. The national feed carries CBS primetime and late-night programming, however, it does not include local news, syndicated shows, or some live sports. Those in the Eastern and Central time zones are receiving an East Coast feed, while those in the Mountain and Western time zones are getting a West Coast feed of CBS.
Related: Complete List of CBS Affiliates Available on Paramount+ ►
A national feed will not include local news or programming in any markets, meaning that fuboTV users will have to look elsewhere to get local CBS coverage. National CBS feeds will also have large sign-off blocks built in throughout the day. Normally, these periods are filled by local affiliates with news updates or other locally-themed programs. Instead, fuboTV users who click over to the national CBS stream during these times will simply get dead air.
However, viewers will still be able to stream the primetime broadcasts of shows including the “NCIS” and “FBI” franchises, “Blue Bloods,” “Ghosts,” “Young Sheldon,” “The Neighborhood,” and more.
Despite the disruption, Fubo subscribers won’t be missing out on one of the biggest jewels on CBS’s schedule since the NFL regular season is over. The national feed would likely not include regionally broadcast NFL games, which would be a big blow to a sports-centric live TV streamer like fuboTV. A large majority of NFL games broadcast on Sunday afternoons are regional, so losing local CBS affiliates would create a big gap in fuboTV’s sports coverage if the stalemate continues into next season. It is unclear if the national feed would include a single game for all viewers, or if it would instead be dark nationwide.
There is a glimmer of good news for Fubo users: only local CBS affiliates are affected by the lack of a new deal. Paramount Global networks that are broadcast nationally such as CBS Sports Network, SHOWTIME, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, and Paramount Network, among others, are still available to fuboTV customers.
The best way for Fubo customers who lost their local affiliate to continue accessing their local CBS channels is via Paramount+. Subscribers to Paramount+’s Premium tier get a live feed of their local CBS station 24 hours a day, plus ad-free streaming of the entire Paramount+ library for $9.99 per month. When the service relaunches as Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, local CBS feeds will still be available on the premium tier as well.
If the blackout continues until next football season, but you aren’t interested in the full Paramount+ Premium tier, the streamer’s Essential plan is also an option. This tier doesn’t offer a livestream of CBS, but for $4.99 per month, you’ll still get access to live regional NFL games, UEFA Champions League soccer, and ad-supported streaming of on-demand content like “Top Gun: Maverick,” “1923,” and much more.
The good news for fuboTV is that the NFL regular season is currently over. This year’s Super Bowl will be broadcast by FOX, which Fubo does still carry, and the live TV service has nine months to negotiate a new deal that CBS affiliates find acceptable.
Fubo
Fubo is a live TV streaming service with about 90 top channels that start at $79.99 per month. This plan includes local channels, 25 of the top 35 cable channels, and regional sports networks (RSNs). In total, you should expect to pay about $91.99 per month, after adding in their RSN Fee. Fubo was previously known as “fuboTV.”