CBS Unveils Major Initiative to Offer its Programming on the Internet

  US broadcaster, CBS, last week announced a major initiative to make its programming available on the Internet through an offering it is calling the CBS Interactive Audience Network. The broadcaster plans to distribute the offering--which will be advertising-supported and free to consumers, and which will be powered by Akamai's content delivery network--through new content deals it has signed with AOL, Microsoft, CNET, Comcast, Joost, Bebo, Brightcove, Netvibes, Sling Media and Veoh (note: CBS has previously entered into distribution agreements with Apple's iTunes, Microsoft's Xbox, Amazon's Unbox, and a number of other non-traditional platforms; it also has distribution deals in place with wireless carriers, AT&T/Cingular, Verizon Wireless and Sprint, and with Qualcomm's MediaFLO platform; a number of observers have pointed out that CBS has not signed deals for the new Interactive Audience Network with Google or YouTube). It says it will begin selling advertising on the offering in the coming weeks, including at the upcoming Upfront marketplace, and that ad revenue will be shared with its new distribution partners. While the offering is targeted primarily at the US, CBS says that it will also make "select clips and full-length sports programming" available internationally. "Today marks an important step in our strategy to distribute content broadly across the online interactive landscape on an open, non-exclusive basis," CBS president and CEO, Leslie Moonves, said in a prepared statement. "Each of these partners offers value to our audience and our advertisers, who can now come to CBS not only for the most watched network on television, but for the most widely distributed professional content online." Added CBS's recently hired president of interactive, Quincy Smith: "CBS's ability to partner with leading next-generation interactive platforms is the best way for CBS to evolve from a content company to an audience company. It's really all about the user, and in building the CBS Interactive Audience Network, we are bringing our content to each unique platform of their choice. In remaining open to all online distributors and community builders big and small we can learn more about our existing audience, be exposed to new ones, and flexibly cater to their changing consumption habits."

According to CBS, the Interactive Audience Network will offer "a rotating list within a specified viewing timeframe" of entertainment, news and sports programming, including programs from CBS Television Distribution's library and current shows such as "CSI," "Late Show with David Letterman," "Survivor," "Showtime Championship Boxing," "CSTV Game of the Week," and "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric."

CBS has also provided details on how some of its new distribution partners will implement the Interactive Audience Network:

• AOL will make CBS content available on video.aol.com and on various of its other Web properties.
• Microsoft will offer CBS content on its MSN Video platform, where it will be available through the latter's MSN Video player.
• CNET will make "CSI" available in what it says will be an "interactive environment" on its TV.com Web site, where visitors will be able to discuss the show.
• Comcast will make CBS content available on its various broadband entertainment sites, including its video-rich portal, Comcast.net, and Fancast, a new, national entertainment site which the MSO plans to launch this summer, and which will be based on the newly acquired Fandango.
• Joost, a broadband video company founded by the co-founders of Skype, will make CBS programs available through its recently unveiled platform, which is currently being beta tested. According to the company, the platform is customizable and offers such "advanced television viewing" features as links that lead to more information or related Web sites, based on the content of a show that's being watched; and various plug-in applications, such as instant messaging, message boards and news tickers.
• Bebo will make CBS content available on its social networking site, which it claims has over 31 million members. It claims that the site is the largest social network in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, and one of the top-three in the US, Canada and Australia.
• Brightcove will offer CBS channels on its consumer-oriented site, Brightcove.com. In addition to viewing CBS programs, visitors to the site will be able to post comments and interact with one another, remix content through interactive editing tools, and share videos through their personal channels on the site. Brightcove says that it will provide a full-screen "theater-mode" viewing experience for long-form CBS content.
• Netvibes will today launch four personalizable CBS "universes" (for CBS News, ShowBuzz, CSTV and SportsLine respectively) on what it calls its "Netvibes Universe Network," a service which it says is designed to let consumers collect, customize and share rich media content online. It will also publish CBS content on its Netvibes Ecosystem, a collection of user-generated feeds, modules, and personalized homepages.
• Sling Media (which appeared on stage with Les Moonves at this year's CES--see [itvt] Issue 7.16 Part 1) will distribute full-length CBS programs and clips on its forthcoming video destination and its enhanced SlingPlayer software, which will be launched for both Slingbox and non-Slingbox customers this summer. It also plans to integrate CBS content into additional platforms, such as its forthcoming SlingCatcher.
• Veoh says it will offer CBS content "in a full-screen, DVD-quality format," through branded, customized channels on Veoh.com and its Veoh Player.

In other CBS news: 1) The broadcaster has launched an online, scripted spin-off series, entitled "Ghost Whisperer: The Other Side" and based on show "Ghost Whisperer," on its broadband video service, innertube. According to CBS, the spin-off "shows the spirit world from the perspective of an earthbound sprit, Zach, who searches for answers regarding his recent death." 2) The broadcaster has unveiled its program line-up on Verizon Wireless's V Cast mobile TV service. Offerings include simulcasts of the primetime shows, "CSI: Miami," "Survivor," "Late Show with David Letterman," "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," and the "CBS Evening News"; time-shifted broadcasts of CBS's daytime, primetime/late-night and news programming; and live sports broadcasts from CSTV all day on Saturdays. 3) The broadcaster is now offering a selection of programming on Sprint TV, including live nightly mobilecasts of "CBS Evening News"; full episodes of "Jericho" on-demand; daily videoclips from primetime and late-night shows; and videoclips from classic shows, such as "I Love Lucy" and "The Brady Bunch." Its deal with Sprint will see CBS selling advertising, which will appear as brief commercials before the videoclips and spots within the news simulcast. 4) The broadcaster has ordered a second season of the original Web series, "Inturn" (note: the latter features nine young hopefuls going through a soap opera "boot camp," in order to win a 13-week contract role on the long-running soap, "As the World Turns"). The new episodes of the show will be available on CBS.com two days a week for a total of eight weeks.

Originally Published: April 16, 2007 in [itvt] Issue 7.26 Part 3

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