Report: How CBS Got Digital Religion

Les Moonves

CBS, one of the founding fathers of the television era, hasn't generally been seen as a willing entrant into the world of new media, writes INTERNETNEWS.COM. But listening to LESLIE MOONVES, the Pres./CEO of CBS CORP., describe the august network's recent rethinking of the digital proposition is something close to a spiritual awakening.

In an onstage interview before an audience of digital marketers at the INTERACTING ADVERTISING BUREAU'S MIXX conference, MOONVES described what CBS has fashioned as its "everywhere" strategy. In essence, that approach is CBS' reckoning with the diffuse nature of the Internet, an acknowledgement that it's no longer practical to try to keep programming confined within the properties owned by the media company.

In that spirit, CBS has seeded its content to some 300 websites, most of which it does not own, through licensing and revenue-sharing deals. "We welcome everybody anytime any place and we think it's where the future is," MOONVES declared.

Much of that synergy can be found in ad sales and cross-promotion through multiple platforms. A local car dealership trying to advertise on one of CBS' local radio stations will also buy ad space on that station's website, for instance. Then, too, CBS and other media companies are increasingly using their online properties to preview upcoming television programs. MOONVES described the Web as something of an incubator for new shows, where the network can move away from focus groups and release a five-minute clip from a new series to gauge the audience reaction.

« see more Net News