• by April 13, 2007

Angling to attract more offline media dollars to its network, AOL on Tuesday will present its programming strategy for the next year to advertisers, media buyers and planners, along with the press. AOL's "First Look" follows similar events staged by Yahoo and MSN to offer a glimpse into its programming portfolio and opportunities for advertisers.

AOL Chairman and CEO Randy Falco and AOL Media Networks President Mike Kelly are expected to preview AOL's 2007-2008 programming line-up and offer a glimpse at a handful of flagship original content properties. In addition, AOL is likely to highlight advertising opportunities that go beyond online media to mobile, video-on-demand, podcasting, and other emerging media platforms.

"We're looking for more 360-degree opportunities [for our clients]," said Kathy Kayse, executive vice president/sales and partnership alliances, AOL Media Networks. "We want advertisers and media planners to consider AOL and Advertising.com as marketing partners and that when you buy with us you're reaching 90% of the Internet audience."

The First Look event in New York caps a six-city road in which AOL shared insights with media buyers, planners and advertisers about its programming strategy and approach to content.

While AOL is keeping First Look details close to the vest, it's likely to announce a second season of Mark Burnett's "Gold Rush" treasure hunt caper. AOL partnered with CBS on the hybrid interactive treasure hunt/reality TV series which reeled in more than 10 million people to participate in the online portion of the series.

Apart from "Gold Rush," Kayse said AOL will unveil "four or five" original programs that are expected to involve an array of partners. In recent months, AOL unspooled three video-heavy shows in the cooking, entertaining and home improvement segments: "Cooking with Tyler Florence," "Home Entertaining with Michele and Gia" and "Home Improvement with Eric Stromer." Speculation is AOL will make new original programming bets in the Gaming, Sports and Lifestyle arenas.

In addition, announcements are expected related to AOL's top-ranked gossip/entertainment site TMZ.com, the "TV's Top 5" property and the comedy channel jointly developed with HBO "This Just In."

"We'll show examples of key content areas that drive home what you can expect from AOL on a regular basis," said Kayse. "We'll continue down the path of working with media companies to find ways to give their content a home. We also believe the Web audience is different and there's different types of content that it would like to consume."

Kris Magel, senior vice president/national broadcast account director at ZenithOptimedia, who attended Yahoo's so-called "Infront" and an MSN presentation, believes the online networks are at a tipping point: "Overall, I believe AOL, MSN, Yahoo and Google are currently making a big play to engage the TV buying community because they see the dollars being spent on TV. Despite their online status, they can offer significant scale, and they know their medium is the one that's growing. They just want to make sure they're in the consideration set when the money really starts to move."

To be sure, the online networks are going all out to protect their territory--particularly as TV and cable networks have gotten hip to the Web. As TV and cable nets have moved aggressively to carve out their own Web plays by producing more original content and brand extensions for online consumption, the supremacy of online networks like AOL, MSN and Yahoo is being threatened at every turn. And the fact remains that while 17% of media consumption is Web-based, only 6% of media dollars are flowing online, observed Yahoo Chief Sales Officer Wenda Harris Millard at a recent media summit.

Of course, the dynamic also works the other way: CBS Corp. created the CBS Interactive Audience Network to distribute the network's programming and other video assets via AOL, Microsoft, CNET Networks, Comcast, Joost, Bebo, Brightcove, Netvibes, Sling Media and Veoh. TV networks are also cutting deals with each other. Take the case of CBS, which reportedly is in discussions with the new NBC Universal/News Corp. online video play to distribute its shows.

Online networks like AOL are fighting for their fair share of media dollars. "Sure, there are TV programs with digital extensions but we're asking marketers to invite AOL into the conversation. We can bring scale to some of the solutions that other media companies are offering," Kayse said. She said online video opportunities are in high demand. "If you stay true to the pre-roll model, there is a dearth of inventory. But we are trying to offer new video solutions, integrated within the page. Our goal is to help advertisers learn and understand there are other opportunities in video that go beyond pre-roll."

For example, AOL is currently shopping around its NetStream unit. The 200 x 250 unit functions as an embedded video player that appears within the actual Web page. As soon as the user clicks into a page, the video begins to play. "Our goal is to present propositions to the market that can cross almost every budget level," Kayse said, adding, "We want to give our advertisers an opportunity to leverage our unique audience to drive the results they're looking for."