An Evening with Sunday Morning, a Night with CBS Sports

The stage is set for "An Evening with CBS Sunday Morning"
October 1, 2018, Town Hall, New York City

In 2014, Netflix reconstructed Friends' Central Perk coffeehouse in Manhattan's East Village.  The following year, Hulu recreated Seinfeld's Monk's Diner on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood.  And this past spring, PBS brought Downton Abbey to life in the 21st Century, with an exhibition of props and memorabilia that has toured from Manhattan's 57th Street to its upcoming next stop in Florida's West Palm Beach (opens November 10.)

Jane Pauley interviews The Front Runner director
Jason Reitman (l) and star Hugh Jackman
Town Hall, NYC, October 1, 2018
Photo by John Paul Filo/CBS

Now CBS is the latest network to get in on the action -- and it has created a whole new division to do so.  With TV audiences becoming ever more fragmented, one of the best ways to bond with viewers -- and in some cases, start a new stream of revenue -- is via "interactive television," giving audiences a chance to experience aspects of their favorite shows live and in person.

On October 1, CBS Experiences (or CBSX) debuted its first presentation, a live version of its well-heeled newsmagazine CBS Sunday Morning at Manhattan's Town Hall.  "An Evening with CBS Sunday Morning" was hosted by some of the morning show's famous correspondents, and featured interviews with the likes of the director and star of the upcoming film The Front Runner, Jason Reitman and Hugh Jackman; the cast of Murphy Brown; subjects from favorite past stories such as Georgia widower Dan Peterson and Norah Wood, the little girl who asked to hug him in the supermarket; plus live performances by Late Show with Stephen Colbert bandleader Jon Batiste, David Yazbek of the Broadway show The Band's Visit, David Brown's The Harmony Project, and more.

The cast of Murphy Brown (l-r, Grant Shaud, Joe Regalbuto,
Faith Ford, Candice Bergen) with Lee Cowan
NYC's Town Hall
October 1, 2018
Photo by Michele Crowe/CBS

Next up, CBSX tackles an even bigger demographic, putting together a program for sports fans called "CBS Sports Friday Night Tailgate."  Featuring the networks' famed sportscasters Phil Simms, James Brown, Bill Cowher, Nate Burleson and Boomer Esiason, plus gourmet "tailgate food" from Bareburger, Mighty Quinn's barbecue, Tao and more, the program will take place at Times Square's PlayStation Theater on Friday, November 9 at 7 PM Eastern. (Click for more info.)

Stay tuned for more announcements of unique CBSX experiences, which I hear are planned thru 2019 and beyond.

Musician David Krauss kicks off the evening
with a performance of the CBS Sunday Morning theme
"Ablassen," by Gottfried Rieche.
October 1, 2018, Town Hall, New York City
Photo by Michele Crowe/CBS

Correspondent Mo Rocca introduces his fellow CBS Sunday Morning Journalists
October 1, 2018
Town Hall, New York City
Photo by John Paul Filo/CBS

CBS Sunday Morning correspondents:
(l-r), Tracy Smith, Lee Cowan, Rita Braver,
Martha Teichner, producer Rand Morrison,
Jane Pauley and Mo Rocca
Town Hall, NYC, October 1, 2018
Photo by Michele Crowe/CBS

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's Jon Batiste
performs at Town Hall, NYC,
October 1, 2018
Photo by Michele Crowe/CBS

A performance by The Harmony Project, led by David Brown
 From left: Candace Haynes, Nicole Jie, Sybil Scoby, Joshuah Campbell,
 Jamie Leonhart, Damaras Obi and Chanté Odom.
Town Hall, NYC, October 1, 2018
Photo by Michele Crowe/CBS

Charles Osgood, host of CBS Sunday Morning from 1994-2016,
waves to the crowd at NYC's Town Hall,
October 1, 2018.
Photo by John Paul Filo/CBS