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BY ANDY FIXMER
Bloomberg News | Friday, January 12, 2007 | (No comments posted.)
CBS Corp. Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves will air amateur videos from Google Inc.'s Youtube as part of a push to recast the most-watched television network as a new media company.
In a campaign called "15 Seconds," CBS will run a short video made by a Youtube user before the Super Bowl football game on Feb. 4, Moonves said at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Youtube will host a contest to broadcast at least one user video on CBS each quarter.
The program is part of an effort by Moonves to link CBS with new media companies such as Youtube in the minds of viewers. CBS already sells TV episodes on Google, the most-used Internet search engine, distributes programs on Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes and streams ad-supported episodes on company Web sites.
"Expect to see more of these types of relationships," said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at New York-based JupiterResearch. "Companies like CBS are continuing to find new opportunities in technology."
Moonves, 57, said yesterday he will use partnerships with technology companies to attract interactive audiences.
CBS will create a "Star Trek" destination within the "Second Life" virtual world of San Francisco, Calif.-based Linden Lab. General Electric Co.'s NBC also makes shows available in the game.
Moonves also plans to test technology from San Mateo, Calif.-based Sling Media Inc. that allows viewers to share television clips with Internet-connected devices. Moonves said he wants to see if Slingbox, a $180 set-top box that sends wireless TV signals, can be used to help boost ratings of shows such as "Two and a Half Men."
"Some technologies will work, others will not," Moonves said. "We learned a lot watching what happened to the music industry with Napster, and we'd like to avoid those mistakes."
With the "15 Seconds" videos, Youtube users will be asked to submit an inspiring message on any topic. CBS will select five clips every two weeks to put on its CBS.com Web site. Judges will select at least one video each quarter for possible broadcast on CBS, the company said.
The attempt to co-opt user-generated content has limitations, Gartenberg said. Broadcast TV will always be driven by hits that require broad audiences, while user-generated clips generally find niche audiences, he said.
Still, opportunities to blend formats will increase, for example when television news stations show early images of accidents or disasters shot with cell-phone cameras.
"It's not one versus the other," Gartenberg said. "There's going to be crossover."
"There's no such thing as old or new media anymore," Moonves said in a speech in Las Vegas.
"There is just media."
Eventually, viewers will gravitate toward services that allow them to view advertising-supported shows, rather than pay for ad-free episodes Moonves said in the interview.
"Ad-based content downloading and viewing will be more successful than a pay-per-view model," Moonves said.
In November, CBS combined its online and digital businesses into a single unit called CBS Interactive. The New York-based company hired former Allen & Co. investment banker Quincy Smith to run the division. Allen & Co. is an investor in Sling Media.
Google one year ago began offering CBS TV shows such as "Survivor." CBS put its shows on YouTube, the biggest video Web site, in October, before YouTube's purchase by Google was completed.
"One month after CBS launched its brand channel on YouTube, their content became the most widely viewed on the site," YouTube cofounder Chad Hurley said.
CBS has also put shows such as "CSI: Miami" and the evening news hosted by Katie Couric on the Web and entered into an advertising partnership with Yahoo! Inc. to generate new revenue. In May, CBS started a Web site called "Innertube" that carries ad-supported programs, including 100,000 hours of re-runs and some shows specifically created for the site.
Last month, the company revived CBS Records to produce music that can be used in TV programs and sold on the Internet. The broadcaster said at the time that it plans to build awareness of the label by integrating artists and music produced with CBS TV shows, and by showcasing tunes and artists on YouTube.
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