Can't be left behind!
Vicissitude saves the day
At least, that's the plan
Enjoy the topical haiku, in honor of National Poetry Month.
It looks like CBS
Remember when Google
According to The Wall Street Journal's customary unnamed sources, CBS keeps 90% of the advertising revenue and hands over the remaining 10% to the distribution partner. The existing contracts should follow the newcomers into ad-supported, free viewing wonderland soon. CBS really does have some amazing breadth to its presentation with all of these partners in place.
Google and YouTube like the search-oriented approach, while AOL wants to weave the CBS clips into the fabric of its portal. Yahoo!
That diversity is intentional. "It's really all about the user," said Quincy Smith, president of CBS Interactive. "In building the CBS Interactive Audience Network, we are bringing our content to each unique platform of their choice. In remaining open to all online distributors and community builders -- big and small -- we can learn more about our existing audience, be exposed to new ones, and flexibly cater to their changing consumption habits."
Market intelligence with a side of ad revenues, please! It's a smart approach, akin to how Disney's
And the partners are fine with occupying various niches for different customer segments, too. "This new, non-exclusive relationship extends AOL's position as a one-stop, online resource to find, watch and share millions of the best videos from across the Web, broadcast and cable television, and entertainment," AOL spokesperson Jay Esmerle told the Fool.
This is yet another way in which home entertainment is changing these days. The hardware is getting better, the content is coming at us from new angles, and the Internet is becoming an integral part of our daily lives -- whether we know that we're using it or not. It's all good for consumers. For the incumbent media giants, it's a case of "adapt or die," and CBS is doing its best chameleon impersonation today.
Further Foolishness:
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Fool contributor Anders Bylund is a Disney shareholder but holds no other position in any of the companies discussed here. You can check out Anders' holdings if you like, and Foolish disclosure is always entertaining.