Video on-demand and video search scenarios marked talks between CBS and Google executives as they will build on the successful showing of “Everybody Hates Chris” on Google Video.
CBS News has been recasting itself as a broadband-first operation, and now it appears that more programming from CBS could find its way online. The separation of the broadcast network from other Viacom properties hasn’t diminished its desire to recapture its audience that has moved online.
Leslie Moonves, CBS chairman, told Reuters that CBS wants to find outlets beyond broadcast for its shows:
“We’re talking to them about a whole slew of things, including video-on-demand, including video search…”
Such talks are occurring across the media industry at a time when entertainment companies are wary of new technologies like the Internet and video games that appear to siphon off consumers of traditional media.
Moonves, however, said he saw more opportunities on the Internet to boost CBS’s reach and bottom line.
CBS’s discussions have not been restricted to Google and have also included talks with Yahoo Inc., although no deals have yet been struck.
Early forays into the video search project saw users uploading television shows and movies to Google, which displeased the Hollywood studios. But summer animosity toward the search engine has fallen away from studios like autumn leaves in a forest.
TV viewers have been moving online for a variety of content, like news and entertainment. It makes sense for broadcasters like CBS to try and find ways to get their programming, and more importantly their advertising, in front of those users.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
