• July 4, 2001

CBS may finally have found an Internet partner for "Big Brother 2," which bows on the network Thursday night at 8 p.m.

Industry insiders said the network is in final negotiations with Real Networks to partner on a plan to provide 24-hour-a-day streaming video footage from inside the "Brother" house. And in a first for major U.S. broadcast network, CBS and Real are planning to charge consumers a subscription fee to watch the goings-on going on in the Studio City, Calif. home.

If a deal is finalized, the site could be up and running as early as Thursday. It seems likely CBS.com will serve as a main portal to the live feed: The site is already promising that streaming video will be "coming soon."

- Variety