CBS Interactive's TV.Com Relaunches With Video From Showtime, Sony, Endemol And More
This story was written by Staci D. Kramer.
A follow-up to the TV.com relaunch we first reported last month ... the CBS Interactive (NYSE: CBS) site, which already sports its new front-page look, is expanding its video catalog with content from Endemol, Sony (NYSE: SNE) Pictures TV, MGM, PBS, and sibling Showtime. TV.com is trying to tilt its image from a community site about television to a video destination. "The thought is to weave in this entertainment into the overall community experience," explains Anthony Soohoo, SVP and GM of CBS Interactive Entertainment and Lifestyle. "We want to use it more as a starter, a fuel to start the conversation versus letting it be so overbearing that it overtakes the rest of the community."
With CBS as its only major broadcast network, TV.com isn't close to being a full-service video destination but given its aura as a fan site, making it possible for users who visit for info about a show a chance to watch it directly from the show page should be a plus. The shows are a mix of current episodes and deep archive , including The Surreal Life, Bewitched, Charlie's Angels, Wired Science,Brotherhood, Dexter, Outer Limits, and Cagney & Lacey. More content negotiations are underway; we expected Warner Brothers to be part of this announcement but as of Sunday, that deal had yet to be finalized.
TV.com also isn't finished with its remake. The front-page changes are among the first of a series of what Soohoo says will be small iterations with the goal of streamlining the site and making it easier to use.
By Staci D. Kramer