I have been critical of CBS's Innertube Project in the past, but they just took a huge leap ahead of the pack with the announcement that they will allow their content, with ads, to be syndicated out to at least 10 other websites. I see this as the first step toward the complete democratization of media and is one of the biggest signs of the changing media landscape since ABC first offered full episodes on abc.com.
They will be offering full episodes and clips to sites like AOL and Comcast and through more specialized outlets like NetVibes and Joost. I don't think it will be much longer before they will offer up completely unrestricted embedding of these files into blogposts. If the ad travels with it and all of the proper protections they want are in place, why wouldn't they allow this? Not sure why it has taken them so long.
What better way to get buzz about your programming than by allowing people to take selected clips of a show and discuss them in their blogs?
Be on the look out for a similar announcement from ABC soon, as I am sure they have considered this. NBC will be the last to act...I think they are still trying to pull down the "Chronicles of Narnia" clip from YouTube.
Posted by: |