Word is that CBS is developing a 24-hour news channel that would be streamed online and would mainly repurpose video and reporting already produced by CBS News.

The NY Times reports that executives spoke on the condition of anonymity because the channel, if it were to move forward, would not be publicly announced for weeks or months. The channel does not have a formal name yet, but it is known internally as CBS News Stream, the executives said.

It is a collaboration between CBS News, which is spearheading the journalistic planning for the channel, and the company’s interactive division, which is handling the distribution. David Rhodes, the president of CBS News, is said to be the project’s biggest champion.

The project’s existence was first reported by BuzzFeed on Tuesday. In response, a CBS Corporation spokesman, Dana McClintock, said that “we are currently talking to a number of partners” about a potential streaming news service.

“There are all kinds of exciting opportunities offered by new platforms, and we intend to keep pursuing them,” said Mr. McClintock, who declined to comment further.

For CBS, which sat, sometimes glumly, on the sidelines while its rivals created cable news channels like MSNBC, an Internet channel would be a relatively low-cost way to spread out its news-gathering costs and, maybe, reach viewers who are not home for the “CBS Evening News.”

It might also help attract attention to its website, CBSNews.com, which has lagged behind most other American television news sites.

In other words, CBS is finally moving into the future, 15 years late.