• by Wayne Friedman , April 29, 2008

Reviving one of its TV brands, Warner Bros. says The WB will be restarted as a digital network later this month.

Under TheWB.com, Warner Bros. Television Group will launch a new business where TV programs--some from the original broadcast network that was replaced by the CW two years ago--will be streamed on a new advertising-supported site. KidsWB, The WB's kids' block of programming, will also be reborn as KidsWB.com.

At its launch, shows will include non-Warner Bros. productions "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Everwood" and "Roswell," as well as shows produced by Warner Bros. Television, such as "The O.C.," "Veronica Mars" and "Friends." It will also air original short-form content and programming.

The deal includes a partnership with the social-network site Facebook. On the site, viewers will be able to watch episodes of the series and interact with other's fans.

Warner says it has deals with Mattel, McDonald's and Johnson & Johnson as charter advertisers, and distribution and marketing deals with Comcast Corp, Fancast, and AOL. It also has a number of mobile carriers.

TheWB.com, set to launch as a beta site later this month, will have an official launch in August. The WB will target the same young adult demos--16-34--that it did when it was a traditional TV network.

As it did first as a weekday, then only a Saturday morning daypart on the network, KidsWB.com will feature programming drawn from the Warner Bros. vault, including Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera and DC Comics. Programs on TheWB.com will not be exclusive. Many shows are already syndicated across other digital outlets, including the NBC-News Corp. digital site, Hulu.com.