TV.com. playing catch-up, strikes deals for “Dexter,” “I Dream of Jeannie”
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Can TV.com be suffering from a case of Hulu envy?
CBS Interactive reached a series of deals to bring clips and full episodes of television shows such as ‘Dexter,’ ‘The Tudors’ ‘The Surreal Life’ and classics such as ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ to TV.com as it attempts to broaden the appeal of its online community of television fans.
CBS scooped up TV.com as part of its $1.8-billion acquisition of CNet Networks in May. The site -- with a brand name that all but screams that it’s the place to watch TV shows online -- has nonetheless lost ground to Hulu, the online television and movie portal venture by News Corp. and NBC Universal that emerged from an extended beta test last March.
The most recent online audience estimates from ComScore Media Metrix show Hulu surpassed the earlier TV-on-the-Internet media darling, Joost, and is putting pressure on TV.com, which has seen its unique visitors drop by a third.
TV.com has found itself playing catch-up.
The deals announced today with MGM, PBS, CBS-owned premium cable channel Showtime, Sony Pictures Television and Endemol, producer of ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ and ‘Deal or No Deal,’ add more than 1,000 show episodes to TV.com’s video library, which already includes episodes and clips from CBS and Hulu.
Anthony Soohoo, senior vice president and general manager of CBS Interactive Entertainment and Lifestyle, said broadening the selection of shows fit with the desire to make TV.com the place where ‘television lives online.’ Fans will not only come to watch the shows they’re passionate about, but the video also provides a leaping-off point for discussion....
...This active participation (the site’s community posts an average of six contributions a second) is what differentiates TV.com from the host of other online video sites that offer the same television content, Soohoo says.
‘It’s like a party that people go to,’ Soohoo said. ‘What makes it unique is the people inside the party and the conversations, people’s predictions of what’s going to happen. That’s going to be the unique aspect of TV.com.’
Forrester Research analyst Bobby Tulsiani said there was no shortage of places for viewers to watch full-length videos online. What separates Hulu from other portals such as Joost, Sling and Fancast is the experience.
In one survey in which viewers were asked why they choose a particular site, they ranked as the most important criteria that the video plays immediately, the image looks good and the ads aren’t obtrusive, Tulsiani said.
‘That’s why Hulu’s praised,’ Tulsiani said. ‘That’s put them in a leadership position.’
This desire for uncluttered simplicity may pose a challenge for TV.com, Tulsiani said, as it incorporates video with TV listings, community forums and news.
-- Dawn C. Chmielewski