CBS enters deals for new Web program network

By Michele Gershberg

NEW YORK (Reuters) - CBS Corp. said on Thursday it has created a broad Internet distribution vehicle for its popular programs through deals with 10 partners, including Time Warner Inc.'s AOL, Microsoft Corp.'s MSN and Comcast Corp.

With the deals, CBS will deliver such shows as crime drama "CSI," "Late Show with David Letterman," "Survivor" and "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric" to a broader Web audience. Hundreds of hours of programming from its video library will also be made available.

Partners in the CBS Interactive Audience Network include other Internet video services including CNET Networks Inc. , Joost, Sling Media, Veoh and Brightcove as well as social network Bebo and personal Web portal Netvibes. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"We don't want to be exclusive with anybody, because nobody should expect a content company to be," CBS Interactive President Quincy Smith told Reuters. "I don't think the world needs another portal."

Viewers can watch the programs for free, with advertising revenue shared between CBS and its partners. CBS would not give details of the revenue split, although similar industry deals favor the content owner.

The CBS interactive network is the latest effort by a leading media company to gather a larger Internet audience for their programs and sell advertising for the shows online.

Last month, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and NBC Universal said they would team up on a new online video venture to challenge the popularity of Google Inc.'s video- sharing site YouTube.

CBS is also in talks with the News Corp-NBC venture for distributing its shows, along with many other players in the growing new market for digital distribution, Smith said.