Cyberspace gets deadly in this week's CSI: NY episode. The next installment of the hit CBS
Wednesday night's episode obviously isn't the first time that fictional entertainment has delivered big product placements for popular online websites.
If you caught Transformers earlier this year, you'll recall that eBay
A television show's episodic nod may seem petty compared with the big-screen odes, but CBS is going all out this time. In a recent Reuters article, the show's creator details how viewers will have several months to solve the crime within Second Life before a related episode wraps up the storyline on Feb. 6.
Setting up a virtual CSI: NY crime scene within Second Life is clever, though the virtual community has attracted several corporations -- including IBM
The takeaway for investors is that this is just another savvy move by an old-school broadcasting network to make an online connection with its viewers. That's happening a lot lately, and we're just getting started with the new fall prime-time season.
General Electric's
Investors who may be bearish on the broadcasters because of lethargic ad-sales growth need to assess the potential for online gravy. Now that Disney
"And here's the great thing," the CSI creator is quoted as saying in the Reuters piece. "CBS is willing to commit to two 30-second spots that night to tell 16 million people that we're having a CSI: NY virtual world ... that will be up forever."
Imagine that. A few months to solve a crime, followed by an eternity to see whether CBS can watch over a growing community of crime-drama buffs on the Internet.
With my apologies to Fall Out Boy, this ain't a crime scene, it's an arms race.
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