• by Gavin O'Malley , February 22, 2006

Rainbow Media's music network Fuse has launched an amusement-oriented site to promote its music and games, and drive traffic to the cable companies that carry it. So far, Cox Communications is the only cable company to have signed on to the site, dubbed "Just For The F of It".

"The site was created to be an experience to drive kids back to cable operators' sites," said Joe Glennon, Fuse's senior vice president of distribution.

The look and feel of the site is similar to other Web environments that Fuse's design partner, JUXT Interactive, has put forth recently. Like the site JUXT created for Nestea last summer, "Just For The F of It" attempts to entertain mostly male 12- to-34-year-olds with wacky-to-boorish visuals presented in disjointed fashion.

Mark Hoppus, the bassist for the now-defunct popular band Blink 182, has agreed to maintain a presence on the site with a blog and bi-weekly podcasts. Visitors can also access interview footage and text from upcoming programs, as well as new music videos, bios and artwork in a monthly "featured band" section. The site offers free desktop icons and accessories, downloadable stickers, "Easter-egg"-style hidden music downloads, and other freebies.

The site will reside on Web sites of participating cable partners like Cox. Fuse's affiliate marketing staff will work with each multiple service operator to create and distribute an HTML e-mail highlighting new content on the site. The information will then be pushed to consumers. Each page on the site features a "Tell A Friend" option, in an effort to achieve viral buzz.

Steve Gorman, Cox Communications' vice president of high speed Internet marketing, said he expects the site "will help further our brand recognition and allow us to reach a broader audience of young adults who are responsible for much of today's technology purchases." Fuse itself reaches an estimated 41 million homes, said a company spokeswoman.

At first, cable operators' "Just For The F of It" sites will look alike--but that should change as operators begin requesting content that appeals to their markets. "Our goal is to be able to deliver highly localized content in the near future," said Glennon.

Last week, Fuse announced a promotional partnership with music retailer f.y.e. to offer millions of free music downloads on fuse.tv. Throughout the month, Fuse fans are being directed to the network's site to register and receive free downloads. Per the deal, f.y.e. has been designated Fuse's "preferred download provider" on several of its shows, including Daily Download. Also, Fuse will host a microsite on f.y.e., which will house Fuse content.

Multiple service operators yet to stake their claim include Bright House, Bresnan, Cable One, CableVision, Cebridge, Charter, Comcast, GCI, Insight, Midco, Mediacom, Time Warner, and Wave.