Pursuing viewers beyond their TV and computer screens, CBS and the E! entertainment channel are each launching separate content-over-mobile initiatives.
In a first for CBS, its
daytime department is developing three- to-five-minute sudsers--between five and seven of which will be released every week, according to CBS spokesman Phil Gonzalez. Still in the early concept stage,
little about the soap-shorts has been confirmed, beyond the involvement of writer/producers James Dutcher and Leah Hecker, said Gonzalez.
E! Networks, meanwhile, has announced plans to debut its
broadband channel next week, which will deliver streaming video and original and mobile-friendly content to the Web (plus audio to Sirius and XM satellite radio subscribers.)
The channel, "The
Vine @ E! Online," will kick off this coming Monday with live coverage of the Golden Globe Awards. Vine will also feature video from the E!'s new unscripted series "#1 Single," featuring entertainer
Lisa Loeb, celebrity interviews, movie trailers, outtakes, and sneak peeks from E!. The channel is formatted by six categories--"E! News & Gossip," "What's Hot," "Red Carpet," "Wild Zone," "Movies,"
and "E!TV Bonus."
CBS continues to aggressively expand its presence beyond consumers' living rooms and desktops through deals with Amp'd Mobile' and Verizon Wireless' VCast broadband cellular
networks, among others. VCast subscribers can access CBS News and "Entertainment Tonight" clips, as well as clips from "CSI" and "Late Show with David Letterman," among others.
Broadband channels
have become more than mere accessories for TV networks attempting to extract the greatest value from their programming. Networks are making significant investments online--as in the cases of MTV's
"Overdrive," VH1's "V Spot," and Comedy Central's "MotherLoad". And late last year, NBC Universal went a step further in announcing plans to reposition Trio, its arts and pop culture cable channel, to
the Web.