• by Wayne Friedman , June 13, 2008

Looking to broaden its once-traditional TV brands--now digital brands--Warner Bros. Television Group has signed five digital distribution deals for WB.com and KidsWB.com.

The digital sites--Dailymotion, Joost, Sling Media, TiVo and Veoh--will launch separate channels for TheWB.com and KidsWB.com. Those new advertiser-supported broadband sites were announced in April. Time Warner-owned AOL is also a digital distributor of the two Warner Bros. Internet brands.

The channels will launch on those sites in mid-September, broadening Warner Bros. television content for consumers. Warner Bros. says the deals have been made with these distributors because the studio believes they are in a "premium environment."

WB.com shows will include "Smallville," "One Tree Hill," "Friends," "The O.C.," "Gilmore Girls" and others.

The WB.com, now a beta site, was launched in early May. Johnson & Johnson signed on to be the charter sponsor. TheWB.com first signed digital distribution partner Comcast--offering programming on multiple ad-supported platforms, including its online entertainment destination, Fancast.com, and its video-on-demand (VOD) service.

Selected series will be available on Comcast's VOD platform, including "The O.C.," "One Tree Hill" and "Veronica Mars." TheWB.com will also have an original application launching on Facebook.

In addition to shows that ran on the linear WB network, there will be original series on WB.com, including forthcoming "Sorority Forever," a mystery/drama from director/producer McG and production team Big Fantastic (the creators of "Prom Queen"), a show that looks into the world of sororities. Shows will be geared to WB's young 18-34 target audience.

For its KidsWB.com, Warner will glean shows from the Studio's animated characters and programming, including Warner Bros. Animation, Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera and DC Comics.

Warner Bros. also says it will launch two new themed channels: Classics WBTV, a channel featuring full-length episodes from Warner Bros. Entertainment library, and a Sci Fi channel.