CBS to Webcast Evening News with Katie Couric

CBS has announced that it will begin streaming a live Webcast of Katie Couric's new gig, the "Evening News" when the program makes its official debut on September 5, 2006.

This news piggybacks on CBS's recent announcement that it will offer Webcasts of several of its popular primetime programs including: "CSI," "NCIS," "Survivor," "Jericho," and "Numbers."

The online portion of the simulcast will be made available to Web users for free and will be supported by advertisements. After airing, Viewers will also be able to access the "Evening News" will be available as a whole on an on-demand basis or may pick and choose the stories they would like to watch. (Source: news.com)

Tapping into the new generation of online news seekers, CBS's "Evening News" will become the first network evening news to be broadcasted live on the Internet. As more and more consumers are going online to obtain up-to-the-minute news and entertainment, CBS seems to be moving in the right direction.

Larry Kramer, president of CBS Digital Media made note of the fact that "viewers increasingly want access to programming when its fresh, and the Internet allows us [CBS] to bring our content to them wherever they are and whenever that content is broadcasted." (Source: marketwatch.com)

After 17 years as co-host of NBC's popular "Today Show," Couric will begin her new post as anchor and managing editor of the "Evening News" in September. Couric herself lauds the new format as a benefit to CBS viewers, noting that "technology has become an integral part of everyday life for most people, and it's dramatically changed the way they consume news, so this is a fantastic development." (Source: biz.yahoo.com)

Other components of the "Evening News" will also be available online to viewers include the blog "Couric & Company" that will be updated several times per day with input from various CBS news correspondents. CBS will also offer "CBS News First Look with Katie Couric" -- an online exclusive that will feature previews to the day's headlines.