• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, July 26, 2005

On the heels of its Webcast of Live 8 earlier this month, America Online Monday started streaming behind-the-scenes pre-concert footage shot before Hilary Duff's concert in Hartford, Conn.

The Webcam footage, on Radio KOL (Kids Online) between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., included feeds showing the backstage preparations and an interview with Duff, said an AOL spokeswoman. The concert itself was not streamed. KOL, America Online's channel for youngsters, plans similar pre-concert streams for Duff's performances in Richmond, Va. and Roanoke, Va. on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. For now, no sponsorships are connected with the feature.

The Radio KOL channel also hosts what the company is calling a "preview" Hilary Duff concert, consisting of tracks she recorded for AOL Music.

The streams of Duff's concert preparations are the first live performance-related events KOL has broadcast, said the spokeswoman. The initiative follows in the footsteps of AOL's July 2 Live 8 streams, which drew 5 million visitors that day--including 175,000 who simultaneously streamed portions of the show.