Written by Liz Gannes
Posted Sunday, January 11, 2009 at 11:06 PM PT

 

CBS Tries to Out-Hulu Hulu with TV.com

As was expected, CBS is revamping TV.com to be a video-viewing destination. The well-URLed site, which six months ago started featuring Hulu content, has added CBS shows, and Monday is announcing deals for shows from MGM, Sony, PBS, Endemol USA and Showtime, according to reports tonight.

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CBS is pitching the site as a video portal that’s already social. That’s because competitors like Fox and NBC’s Hulu, Comcast’s Fancast, and Joost are trying to build online communities from scratch, with none-too-impressive results. Not to say people don’t show up at those sites to watch video, they just don’t necessarily show up to chat with other video watchers.

CBS gained control of TV.com through its acquisition of CNET last year. Up till now, the site has been an information source and community for television fans. Personally, I’ve only ever visited TV.com to check out its show guides to make sure I was watching TV episodes in the right order. Not a terrifically social activity! But the site has millions of users — though, weirdly, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal disagree on how many unique visitors comScore said the site had in November; the NYT says 16 million, while the WSJ says 4.8 million.

Out of the gate, TV.com has a leg up on Hulu when it comes to CBS content, because TV.com already has Hulu content and Hulu has no reciprocal deal for CBS shows. But let’s not get too lost in those details. Parsing which site has full episodes of which shows is an all-too-complicated task for viewers and reviewers alike (see, for instance, our recent run-down of Viacom’s shows’ availability online). Networks and studios give different sites different deals — different selections of shows, different numbers of the most recent episodes and sometimes just clips instead of full episodes. Yuck.

Suffice it to say, none of the TV.com content stands out for me as something you couldn’t find elsewhere — for example, you can find the same clips (but not full episodes) of Endemol USA’s Deal or No Deal on TV.com, Hulu, Fancast and Sling.com. And there’s no way TV.com (or anyone else) could be comprehensive, because it doesn’t have permission to embed long-form TV episodes from ABC.com’s walled garden. But the “full episode videos” sections of ABC shows on TV.com are left blank, rather than linking out to ABC.com, as Hulu and other sites do.

But even if TV.com is imperfect, I think CBS’s move toward a comprehensive portal is a good one. Those networks who didn’t get in on Hulu from the beginning can never be as fully a part of it as NBC and Fox. And resentment or other complications stemming from that reality don’t serve the consumer well — unless folks like CBS take the Hulu example to heart and start trying their best to build comprehensive video portals as well. Someday, maybe, someone will get it right.

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Comments & Trackbacks

  1. Still no full episodes of The Big Bang Theory. It boggles the mind.

    Greg on January 12th, 2009 at 4:48 am - Permalink

  2. [...] to many observers my hunch is that the latter is the more likely, and reading today about CBS Trying to Out-Hulu Hulu with TV.com and the complexity of Viacom’s online presence strengthens that feeling.  The following [...]

    The search and discovery opportunity for long form video | The Equity Kicker on January 12th, 2009 at 5:09 am - Permalink

  3. [...] Web audience under its wings, today we get confirmation that CBS will toss its hat in the ring by relaunching TV.com and take on (though the corporate spin might very well be that they’re not [...]

    HipMojo.com » CBS Comes Full Circle on January 12th, 2009 at 5:44 am - Permalink

  4. I don’t like it. Too many commercials. Take a hint from Hulu.

    I wish someone would create a 24/7 linear stream of nothing but internet videos. Maybe a comedy channel, science, etc. The content is there, just organize it for me so I don’t have to click, click, click!

    pc to tv on January 12th, 2009 at 6:59 am - Permalink

  5. [...] From NewTeeVee. [...]

    CBS to Challenge Hulu With a Revamped TV.com | Digital Meld on January 12th, 2009 at 7:28 am - Permalink

  6. Great idea “PC to TV” a linear channel that simply pushes a continual stream of videos to your PC or mobile. We can do that. However you’ll have to put up with commercials. Otherwise who is going to pay for it?

    Drew Robertson on January 12th, 2009 at 8:18 am - Permalink

  7. [...] CBS Tries to Out-Hulu Hulu with TV.com 12 Gennaio 2009 [...]

    NewTeeVee | Wittgenstein Links on January 12th, 2009 at 8:27 am - Permalink

  8. [...] CBS gained control of TV.com through its acquisition of CNET last year. Up till now, the site has been an information source and community for television fans. Personally, I’ve only ever visited TV.com to check out its show guides to make sure I was watching TV episodes in the right order. Not a terrifically social activity! But the site has millions of users — though, weirdly, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal disagree on how many unique visitors comScore said the site had in November; the NYT says 16 million, while the WSJ says 4.8 million. newteevee.com [...]

    sudha.K » CBS | Revamp of TV.COM on January 12th, 2009 at 8:51 am - Permalink

  9. agree with the linear channel idea. right now, what comes closest are sites like http://tv.blinkx.com, which takes you to ALL tv shows from across the web.

    coolbeans81 on January 12th, 2009 at 9:26 am - Permalink

  10. [...] speaking of more TV, CBS is vying for a slice of the Hulu pie with its video-viewing site that’s added extra [...]

    What’s Going On - Globes, Zunes, Billy Mays « Scene Now on January 12th, 2009 at 10:17 am - Permalink

  11. [...] Read More… [...]

    Santiago Leon News Site » Blog Archive » CBS Tries to Out-Hulu Hulu with TV.com on January 12th, 2009 at 12:21 pm - Permalink

  12. [...] really good! What’s got me all excited, you ask? Well, how about the fact that CBS has announced their plans to go head to head with hulu.com with its own media mega house, TV.com! Yep [...]

    TV.com Vs. Hulu, Who Wins? We do! on January 13th, 2009 at 5:15 am - Permalink

  13. [...] CBS Tries to Out-Hulu Hulu with TV.com « NewTeeVee TV.com has a leg up on Hulu when it comes to CBS content, because TV.com already has Hulu content and Hulu has no reciprocal deal for CBS shows. (tags: iptv hulu) [...]

    links for 2009-01-13 « Brent Sordyl’s Blog on January 13th, 2009 at 6:01 am - Permalink

  14. [...] CBS Tries to Out-Hulu Hulu with TV.com « NewTeeVee.   [...]

    CBS Tries to Out-Hulu Hulu with TV.com on January 13th, 2009 at 7:01 am - Permalink

  15. [...] CBS Tries to Out-Hulu Hulu with TV.com GIGAOM CBS is pitching the site as a video portal that’s already social. That’s because communities are something competitors like Fox and NBC’s Hulu, Comcast’s Fancast, and Joost are trying to build from scratch, with none too impressive success. Not to say people don’t show up at those sites to watch video, they just don’t necessarily show up to chat with other video watchers. TV.com came to CBS through its acquisition of CNET last year. Up till now, the site has been an information source and community for television fans. TV.com has a leg up on Hulu when it comes to CBS content, because TV.com already has Hulu content and Hulu has no reciprocal deal for CBS shows. Source> [...]

    January 12, 2009 | next media update on January 13th, 2009 at 1:48 pm - Permalink

  16. Lycos Cinema has also taken a social approach to TV and movie watching – in fact you’ve been able to watch and chat simultaneously with fellow viewers there for a few years now. Content runs more toward indie films and classic TV, e.g. newly added titles include Bonanza, Ozzie and Harriet, Dragnet. If you’re looking for some edgy films or nostagic TV, it’s a great option: http://cinema.lycos.com

    Bill on January 14th, 2009 at 10:34 am - Permalink

  17. At the end of the day it’s going to be less about content ’seems everyone is getting on that boat’ and more about user experience. Site like http://miiTV.com and http://skejcast.com give users a broader set of tools to experience media and not be locked into visiting x diff. sites to get their fix.

    Daniel Aharonoff on January 14th, 2009 at 2:33 pm - Permalink

  18. [...] TV.com now houses approximately 38,000 videos from more than 19,000 shows. Read more, at NewTeeVee and the Wall Street [...]

    Flypaper.tv » Blog Archive » Top News This Week on January 16th, 2009 at 2:10 am - Permalink

  19. [...] week I found a great example of this. According to a NewTeeVee post, CBS is changing its strategy for TV.com away from an online community with videos, to one that is [...]

    MicroExplosion Media » Blog Archive » Case Study: CBS Revamps TV.com With New Strategy on January 18th, 2009 at 8:42 pm - Permalink

  20. [...] to Nielsen, since TV.com relaunched to become more of a video portal, its unique viewers jumped 263 percent in January. Ad Age reports [...]

    Hulu Yanks Content from TV.com, the Race Begins « NewTeeVee on February 18th, 2009 at 8:41 am - Permalink

  21. [...] to Nielsen, since TV.com relaunched to become more of a video portal, its unique viewers jumped 263 percent in January. Ad Age reports [...]

    Hulu Yanks Content from TV.com, the Race Begins | Viral Video Maker on February 18th, 2009 at 12:10 pm - Permalink

  22. [...] which CBS (CBS) purchased last summer, has owned the TV.com domain for several years. This year CBS relaunched the site as a Hulu-like video portal. Included in the launch was video from Hulu itself, which syndicates [...]

    Why Did Hulu Disappear From CBS’s TV.com? Because It Can | Peter Kafka | MediaMemo | AllThingsD on February 18th, 2009 at 12:40 pm - Permalink

  23. [...] Hulu To Kneecap Boxee – Techcrunch boxee blog » the Hulu situation Hulu Blog – Doing hard things CBS Tries to Out-Hulu Hulu with TV.com « NewTeeVee CBS Strikes Back at Hulu – Digits – [...]

    Oroväckande nyheter kring Hulu — Per-Åke Olsson on February 20th, 2009 at 9:07 am - Permalink

  24. [...] read this article today on NewTeeVee on how CBS is trying to “out-Hulu Hulu.” (I like how now Hulu [...]

    Beyond the Box » Blog Archive » TV.com takes on Hulu on February 22nd, 2009 at 10:50 pm - Permalink

  25. [...] should be treated better by these companies if they don’t want to lose out to a competitor. TV.com [...]

    Another Black Eye for Openness: Hulu Stops MyMediaPlayer « NewTeeVee on March 3rd, 2009 at 9:09 pm - Permalink

  26. [...] del formato tradizionale nelle edicole in favore di un’edizione ridotta formato tabloid, produttori televisivi combattono con i portali online che minacciano di portare il flusso televisivo fuori dai canali tradizionali, etichette musicali [...]

    lanostravoce@cicero » Modelli Di Business Per L’Online Publishing: Dove Gli Editori Online Possono Trovare Nuove Fonti Di Guadagno on March 11th, 2009 at 3:44 am - Permalink

  27. [...] think CBS would want to keep it’s hard-earned 60 Minutes watchers on CBS properties. The rivalry between Hulu and TV.com heated up recently as Hulu yanked its content from TV.com, something TV.com [...]

    CBS Promos Fancast for Online 60 Minutes on April 5th, 2009 at 9:31 pm - Permalink

  28. [...] early stats show that people show up at TV-sites to watch videos, not to interact with others. Liz Gannes, columnist for TeeVee, reports that social features have been a hard sell for competitors like [...]

    Time for an SMB Video Portal? - ReelSEO on May 11th, 2009 at 8:00 pm - Permalink

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