CBS Has Eye on Cable With Launch of People Channel

After years of ignoring it, CBS is finally getting into the cable television business today with the launch of a channel called Eye on People.

But don’t look for it in Southern California yet. With scores of cable networks fighting for limited channel space, CBS says only 2 million people nationwide will have access to Eye on People initially.

None of those subscribers are in the Southland, but CBS executives say they expect to have news soon of distribution there.

Although the new service will feature many familiar faces from CBS News--among them Mike Wallace, Mark McEwen and Paula Zahn--Eye on People is attempting to differentiate itself from news-driven MSNBC, Fox News Channel and CNN by focusing on personalities.

The programming, which will include new material and archival footage from CBS News, includes “I Remember,” a series hosted by Charles Kuralt that features CBS correspondents talking about stories they’ve covered; “The Things People Do,” hosted by Charles Osgood; and “Off Tenth,” a live nightly program on the day’s headlines, hosted by CBS correspondents Thalia Assuras and Richard Schlesinger.

CBS, under the previous ownership of Laurence Tisch, avoided cable in favor of focusing on the broadcasting business. But since being bought by Westinghouse, the company has sought to establish a presence in cable as its rival networks have done.