• by Steve Smith , Staff Writer @popeyesm, January 29, 2007

CBS’ Innertube

This Tube Finesses Programming, Ad Integration, and Consumer Control

Thought we were going to say YouTube, didn’t you? Well, we did (see below), but in 2006, user-generated video was a popular phenomenon still looking for a business model and a reliable entry point for advertisers.

The pleasant surprise came from traditional media, especially CBS, whose online TV distribution strategy was as brave as it was technically adept. The network’s Innertube.com portal is a fully realized on-demand system that time-shifts much of the prime-time TV schedule and offers Web-exclusive content and DVD-like bonus features. CBS’ Innertube even signed talent such as Michael Cera of “Arrested Development” for short-form programming. It represents what interactive network TV should offer: Quality, reliable content franchises all under the consumer’s control.

The pleasant surprise came from traditional media, especially CBS, whose online TV distribution strategy was as brave as it was technically adept. The network’s Innertube.com portal is a fully realized on-demand system that time-shifts much of the prime-time TV schedule and offers Web-exclusive content and DVD-like bonus features. CBS’ Innertube even signed talent such as Michael Cera of “Arrested Development” for short-form programming. It represents what interactive network TV should offer: Quality, reliable content franchises all under the consumer’s control.

CBS also earns well-deserved props from the advertising community for evolving the broadband video ad model. Advertisers such as Dreamworks, GMAC, and AT&T enjoy exceptional integration — product placement in some Web-only clips, persistent brand presence in the video player, and Web-friendly, nonintrusive pre- and mid-roll ads. Most of all, CBS is offering marketers a level of accountability that most user-generated media outlets have yet to muster. “They are overlaying the metrics to prove their worth,” says Christine Peterson, associate media director at Carat Fusion. “[CBS] is investing in, creating, and adapting models that allow us to track in-stream [video].”

CBS also appears to track emerging media platforms more aggressively than any other network. Its distribution strategy recognizes that individual properties, shows, and programming franchises are the key brands now, so shows and promotional packages appear on Apple’s iTunes, TiVo, and even on the Xbox 360’s new video marketplace. The network’s platform-agnostic attitude extends to YouTube, where it offers video clips that average 850,000 viewings a day. CBS’ hiring of Michael Marquez, a former Yahoo executive, makes it clear that the network is playing hardball when it comes to broadband.

The 800-pound gorilla of online video, YouTube, doesn’t need more attention and accolades. It’s the standard-bearer for quick and easy access to the world’s hippest videos. Adding its social networking engine was like strapping a supercharger to a space shuttle. But YouTube’s $1.6 billion acquisition by Google underscores what the user-generated brand needs most — a clear strategy for advertisers. The potential is staggering; YouTube could become an ad platform, or perhaps merely a way for marketers to test video creative or a viral marketing strategy. The question: How can advertising be successfully integrated into YouTube without tarnishing its consumer street cred?

Among the Tube’s most compelling rivals, Revver.com arrived with a cleaner look and easier ad model. Revver monetizes clips with ads no matter where or how the viral distribution brings them online and then shares revenue with the video-makers. As a result, it’s attracting some of the best vloggers (“Ask a Ninja” and “Sam Has 7 Friends”), and marketers such as Verizon Wireless, which offers V Cast clips. YouTube, are you watching?

ManiaTV is a glimpse into the future mash-up of Innertube, YouTube, and perhaps every tube. It aggregates Web-exclusive and user-generated content, video from the major media, and some live feeds, injecting it with a social networking dynamic. It’s all lit up in a user-controlled console that builds TiVo-like playlists from the mix. Ads are nicely integrated as pre-rolls and promotional partnerships. While tiny compared with the rest, ManiaTV is a technology and business model we would like to see elsewhere. YouTube, you watching this, too?

And lest we forget, there are 20 million pairs of eyeballs scoping out thousands of TV episodes, vodcasts, and now full-length movies at Apple’s iTunes. More than a year after introducing video, Apple’s library has become the place for us refugees from prime time to discover “Jericho” and “Battlestar Galactica,” and where we fell in love with Amanda Congdon, formerly of the video blog “Rocketboom” until she ditched us in a messy parting of the ways; she now appears on an ABC News video blog.