The new partnership will commence in early April, and hit shows like Frasier, Medium and Cheers will become available to Netflix subscribers. In December, Netflix signed a similar deal with Disney-ABC Television as part of its ongoing commitment to expanding its content library.
The CBS partnership means that content from all four major broadcast networks is now available on Netflix. CBS is the only major U.S. broadcast network not involved with Hulu and the Hulu Plus premium offering, which makes this Netflix deal a particular coup.
CBS.com and TV.com do offer streaming episodes of various current and catalog shows, but Netflix is the first subscription offering to gain access to the network's swath of shows. Because the partnership is non-exclusive, it is possible that some of this content could wind up on other streaming subscription services in the future.
For now, the CBS win gives Netflix an advantage over its competitors like Hulu Plus and Amazon's new Prime Instant Video service.