• Los Angeles Times, Thursday, September 20, 2007 11:03 AM

On the same day that NBC announced free ad-supported downloads of its TV shows, the L.A. Times had a story about the ambitious Web strategy of NBC rival CBS Corp. Reporter Dawn Chmielewski calls CBS' approach to Web distribution "promiscuous," in that the company seeks as many open, nonexclusive partnerships it can get.

In many ways, CBS' strategy comes from the "Web know-how" its executives accrued from a meeting with 16 next-generation Internet companies in Silicon Valley last year. Among other things, they discussed social media and Web 2.0 distribution. "The key lesson from Silicon Valley is respect for the audience," said Jonathan Barzilay, senior vice president and GM of entertainment at CBS Interactive.

The executives' learning is reflected in the media giant's revamped homepage, which is no longer merely "regurgitated television," as a CBS executive once described it. The report says the new site, launched in conjunction with the network's fall season, has less clutter and added social networking touches to attract public discourse.

Read the whole story at Los Angeles Times »