Moonves: The Internet is a Lab for TV

Addressing a crowd at the Mixx Conference in New York yesterday, CBS president and CEO Les Moonves said that the Internet was not cannibalistic to television, MediaWeek reports. “We view the Internet as a lab for our TV network,” Moonves said.

Moonves said that the web was a place for his network to test out programming ideas, which is becoming a popular notion among traditional TV networks. Earlier this year, NBC announced that it would start airing the upcoming Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on the web first, to work out the kinks and find its groove before the show was broadcast on TV.

The CBS head honcho also said that the web was the place for additive content and that “the Internet can help the network and vice-versa.”

Both tidbits from Moonves have got to make the guys at EQAL feel like they have some job security. The team behind Lonelygirl15 entered into an agreement with CBS earlier this year. Under the deal, CBS gets a first look at any of EQAL’s new shows, and the EQAL team will be creating “brand extensions” for programming, integrating content that will expand the shows into mobile and online platforms.