• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, November 7, 2006

As video sites like YouTube and Revver continue to surge with Web users, traditional media outlets are struggling to transform their Web sites into video platforms.

This morning, Jonathan Klein, president of CNN in the United States, told an audience at the Ad:Tech conference in New York that CNN streams 50 million short videos a month. YouTube, by contrast, streams more than 100 million videos a day.

"There are tricks to converting users into viewers," Klein said, implying that traditional media hasn't quite figured those tricks out. But, realistically, it's hard to imagine any tricks that will work to increase TV viewership online during the day. The most obvious reason: It's a lot easier for people to quietly read text at a cubicle than try to watch--and listen to--TV-like clips on CNN.com. If publishers like CNN are counting on people accessing the content from home, they're going to have to give the audience something beyond typical TV content. After all, when people want to watch Anderson Cooper, they can do so at home on a big screen, without the bandwidth-related glitches that still occur online.

Of course, CNN and other networks realize this fact, and are trying to develop the type of Web-only content that will lure online visitors.

NBC, for one, is experimenting along those lines this week: On Thursday, the network will stream a producer's cut of the sitcom "The Office," with extra scenes and footage, immediately after the episode airs on TV. That idea makes intuitive sense, as it allows NBC to tap into the long tail audience--the true "Office" aficionados, as opposed to casual fans--and gives them a reason to visit the Web.

It's that time of year again! You're invited to enter OMMA magazine's Agency of the Year awards for 2006. Click: https://www.mediapost.com/aoysub/ to submit your entry. Thank you.