CBS is a broadcaster in the US, with a host of huge well known shows, including The Big Bang Theory, NCIS, The Late Late Show, The Good Fight, more recently The Twilight Zone and many more… Unfortunately we don’t have access to CBS here in the UK, however we are able to watch a lot of their shows. Most are spread across different channels and streaming service, however a selection are available on CBS’s free to view UK channels, which we detail below.
CBS have 3 channels in the UK currently, CBS Drama, CBS Reality and CBS Justice (rebrand from CBS Action). Each channel has a selection of shows which can be caught on Freeview, Sky, Virgin and Freesat.
CBS UK channel shows
CBS Drama currently has 14 shows airing including ER, Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, Unsolved Mysteries, Urban Legends, Bonanza, Psychic Private Eye and The Love Boat.
The following series can be watched on both CBS Drama and CBS Justice – Bonanza, Diagnosis Murder, CSI: Miami, Medium, The District and Walker, Texas Ranger.
CBS Drama can be watched on Sky 147, Freeview 71, Virgin 197 and Freesat 134.
CBS Justice currently has 15 shows airing. Apart from the shared series listed above, CBS Justice series include NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, JAG, Thunder in Paradise, Ultimate Force, Mission: Impossible, 48 Hours and the High Chaparral.
CBS Drama can be watched on Sky 148, Freeview 39, Virgin 192 and Freesat 137.
Credit: CBS
CBS Reality also shares a few of shows with CBS Drama – Judge Judy, Unsolved Mysteries and Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction. It also airs 48 Hours which is also on Justice.
CBS Drama can be watched on Sky 146, Freeview 66, Virgin 148 and Freesat 135.
Credit: CBS
CBS On-Demand Services
Two CBS on-demand services launched late 2018, Horror Bites, which provides content straight from the Horror Channel itself, and “CBS Catchup Channels UK” provides content from all the CBS channels above. They also enable viewers to access exclusive on-demand content – box sets and CBS Reality Original content such Murder by the Sea, Donal MacIntyre’s Murder Files and Written in Blood.
The Future for CBS UK Channels?
As we know, a lot of the big shows such as The Big Bang Theory are only available through other channels, such as E4. We hope to see a lot more of these bigger shows to appear on the UK CBS channels to have them all in one place, but we have no idea on the broadcasters plans. We’ll more than likely see them incorporated into a streaming service where CBS shows can be watched exclusively, which they already have over in the states called “CBS All Access”.
Tanya Gugenheim, Senior Vice-President of Business Development for AMC Networks International said:
As the way we watch TV changes, it’s important to offer our popular programming to audiences anytime and anywhere, so this expansion onto Freeview Play is a natural next step for us.
We can only imagine with the current growth and interest in streaming services, we’ll see something along the lines of a UK CBS All Access.