CBS News
A new special is taking a look back at the Watergate scandal 50 years after it first happened. The special is called “Watergate: High Crimes in the White House” and it premieres Friday, June 17 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
If you don’t have cable, here are several different ways you can watch “Watergate: High Crimes in the White House” online for free:
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Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime subscribers (Prime comes with a 30-day free trial) can watch a live stream of their local CBS station via the Prime Paramount+ channel (“Premium” plan). You can try both Amazon Prime and the Paramount+ Channel at no cost with a free trial right here:
Once you’re signed up for the Prime Paramount+ Channel, you can watch “Watergate: High Crimes in the White House” live or on-demand on the Amazon Video app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, various smart TV’s, Xiaomi, Echo Show or Echo Spot, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via the Amazon website.
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of CBS (live in most markets) and 100-plus other live TV channels on FuboTV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch “Watergate: High Crimes in the White House” live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 250 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch most shows on-demand within three days (and sometimes longer) of their conclusion, even if you don’t record them.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” CBS (live in most markets) is included in every one, but you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch “Watergate: High Crimes in the White House” live on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the DirecTV Stream website.
If you can’t watch live, DirecTV Stream also comes with 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to unlimited hours).
Paramount+
This is ultimately the same as the Amazon Prime option above, only you’ll watch on Paramount’s digital platforms instead of Amazon’s. You can watch your local CBS channel live via Paramount+ (“Premium” plan), which comes with a free trial:
Once signed up for Paramount+, you can watch “Watergate: High Crimes in the White House” live on the Paramount+ app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Samsung Smart TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via the Paramount+ website.
‘Watergate: High Crimes in the White House’ Preview
On the 50th anniversary of the break-in at the Watergate Hotel, CBS presents “Watergate: High Crimes in the White House,” a “gripping two-hour documentary on the crimes and cover-up that took down a president and still echo today,” according to the CBS press release.
It continues:
“Watergate: High Crimes in the White House” takes viewers inside the extraordinary story of crime and scandal that took down President Richard Nixon.
It was one of the most notorious political crimes in U.S. history. The early morning arrest of five burglars on June 17, 1972, and discovery of wiretapping devices planted inside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, would unravel a sprawling criminal conspiracy and cover-up perpetrated at the highest levels of American government.
Reaching deep into the unrivaled CBS News archive, the documentary reveals how the broadcast network kept uncovering new details through the groundbreaking reporting of legendary anchor Walter Cronkite and fellow network correspondents. It includes rare outtakes and exclusive archival interviews that vividly bring to life President Nixon and his closest aides, including Watergate co-conspirators John Dean and H.R. Haldeman, as well as those who investigated and prosecuted these unprecedented crimes.
“Every couple of generations, we get a moment of scandal,” said journaliast Lesley Stahl in a statement. “Loss of confidence in our leadership, loss of confidence in our system … we’ve seen it recently, and we lived through it during Watergate.”
Stahl actually covered the break-in as a reporter before going on to report on seven presidents for CBS News and “60 Minutes.”
“Stahl is joined in the documentary by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the tenacious Washington Post reporters whose lives were changed by a story that made them role models for investigative journalists everywhere, and whose work was famously captured in the movie “All the President’s Men,” starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman,” reads the press release.
It continues, “Sitting side by side, Woodward and Bernstein relive how their revelations exposed a scheme of inconceivable abuse of power by a president bent on destroying his enemies, and they draw striking parallels between Nixon’s interpretation of presidential power and recent events.”
“Watergate was not about the burglary,” said Woodward in a statement “Watergate was about a whole campaign of sabotage and espionage, about cover-up, about a war against the press, a war against history, a war against the system of justice.”
“It was intended,” Bernstein added, “to undermine the very basis of American democracy: free and unfettered elections.”
“Watergate: High Crimes in the White House” premieres Friday, June 17 at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times on CBS.