CSI has been licensed to stream for its first time on Hulu.
Although the future of CBS’ CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is unclear, the extensive series is heading to an online streaming home for the very first time.
Hulu announced that they have acquired the exclusive subscription video-on-demand rights.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, CSI will be available to stream online starting in early April on Hulu. Subscribers of Hulu will have complete access to over 300 episodes. Also available will be the full libraries of previous seasons.
This negotiation marks the first time that CSI will stream online. Leslie Moonves was asked about the process of negotiating a deal. “CSI is already a multibillion-dollar franchise and new streaming deals will only add to that,” he said at the time. “Going forward we have the whole NCIS catalog in our arsenal to sell, and discussions are already underway to license that show later this year.”
CSI has been titled the most watched show in the world five times. The continuous success has directly lead to the show’s expansion to online streaming.
“CSI is one of the most popular television franchises in the world and we could not be more thrilled make all episodes available on Hulu,” said senior vp and head of content at Hulu, Craig Erwich. “This deal not only represents a huge growth in our offering of premium content, but it also represents an expansion in our partnership with CBS. We look forward to working with CBS to continue making some of the best shows on television available for viewers to stream on more screens in the future.”
Also adding to the discussion of Hulu adding CSI to its library was Scott Koondel, chief corporate content licensing officer at CBS Corporation. “This agreement and previous deals with our partners at Hulu further validates how well CBS procedural dramas perform on subscription services. And, at a time when the CBS Television Network is getting ready to premiere the next generation of the CSI franchise with CSI: Cyber, it’s very exciting to make available all 14 seasons of the show that started it all to Hulu subscribers and CSI’s passionate fan base.”
Netflix is already streaming CSI: New York and CSI: Miami. Amazon has also formed a strong relationship with CBS and has CSI available on video on demand. Hulu will be added the this list starting in April.