CBS All Access is now letting subscribers download shows on iOS and Android to watch offline later. The new feature is only available for users on CBS’s Commercial Free plan, not users on the ads-included plan, as spotted by TechCrunch. It’s first rolling out to the US, but CBS hasn’t announced plans to bring it to other countries yet.
Shows like Star Trek: Discovery, which is arguably the main draw of the streaming service, Twin Peaks, Hawaii Five-0, and NCIS: New Orleans will be available for download. But content from local channels and sports stations won’t be. The download catalog is expected to become even more exciting once new shows — like Get Out director Jordan Peele’s The Twilight Zone remake — come out.
Mobile downloads on Netflix and Amazon Video set the precedent for CBS’s new feature
These mobile downloads, as is the case with mobile downloads on Netflix and Amazon Video, expire after 30 days; if you’ve watched the download, it expires after two days. You’ll be able to redownload expired videos. Say you have a shared plan, and you’re hoping to get an entire show on your device before a longer stint offline. CBS now lets you download a max of 25 videos simultaneously and stream videos on up to five devices.