CBS Corp. is launching a new version of its CNET.com Web site this week -- providing one of the first glimpses at how the New York media giant hopes to integrate CNET Networks, the suite of Web properties it purchased for $1.8 billion in June.CBS is hoping the new face of CNET's flagship site -- which offers a revamped look, more online video, and an easier way for advertisers to customize their messages -- will help it turn back investor concerns that it overpaid for a troubled property. CBS also wants to prove it did more than simply buy its way into the top tier of U.S. Internet properties as part of its effort to shift away from slow-growth businesses like broadcast television. The purchase added tech-lifestyle site CNET and siblings including gamer hub GameSpot.com and fan site TV.com to CBS's existing Web outposts like CBSSports.com.
The combined powerhouse, dubbed CBS Interactive, has its work cut out for it. As people spend more time on other sites like social networks, CNET and CBS must make their own Web content more engaging. They must also find ways to cross-promote brands that encompass wide topic areas like fantasy football, gadget reviews and the evening news. Another challenge: discovering new ways to bundle advertising across TV and Web sites to draw premium rates as the Web remains flooded with cheap advertising space.
Leslie Moonves, CBS's chief executive, says he wants to boost what he estimates will be more than $600 million in Internet revenue for 2008 to $1 billion within three years. "It's going to become a bigger and bigger part of the CBS Corporation," he says, adding that he expects traffic to increase significantly. "Turning it into revenue, that will be our biggest task," he says.
The big question is what exactly CBS brings to the table. One answer, says Mr. Moonves, is cross-promotion. CNET personalities have been appearing on CBS's "The Early Show." CBS sports announcers are encouraging viewers to head to CNET.com. CBS-owned billboards are promoting the relaunch. And at the Democratic and Republican National conventions, "CBS Evening News" anchor Katie Couric is doing a nightly Web cast that includes questions posed by CNET.com users.
"CNET was starting to hit a ceiling in terms of their visibility and in terms of their usage, says Mr. Moonves, adding that exposure on CBS will give CNET "a shot in the arm in terms of exposing it to new people."
CNET attracted 15.3 million unique visitors in July, up 22% from July 2007, according to tracking firm comScore Inc.
In addition, CBS says it is already pushing advertisers from its flagship broadcast network to advertise on its online properties. Only two of CNET.com's top 10 advertisers in the first half of 2008 were among the top 10 on CBS, according to TNS Media Intelligence.
The new CNET.com includes a "brand showcase" feature, allowing advertisers to pay for pages where they can promote products with links to CNET reviews, a service for which CBS can charge higher rates, according to Joe Gillespie, who oversees CNET.com. Amanda Richman, who runs the digital practice for Publicis Groupe SA's Starcom MediaVest, says "there is a drive in the market for the scale and the efficiencies," that a combined CBS/CNET offers.
Founded in 1992, CNET was an early content leader on the Web, growing through a stable of sites centered on technology news and product reviews. But in recent years, competition from blogs and other sites caused U.S. readership on some key properties to decline.
The new CNET.com highlights another priority for CBS's online strategy: video. A large window that will soon play high-definition video within the homepage promotes the site's video content, including relevant clips from CBS broadcasts. Mr. Gillespie says video ads can sell for double normal ad rates on the site.
Whether CNET can help reinvent CBS, which still relies heavily on its slow-growth television and radio businesses, remains to be seen. "We are major content provider," says Mr. Moonves. "Now we have all these areas of content online, which clearly is the direction that distribution will be heading."
By: Sam Schechner and Jessica Vascellaro
Wall Street Journal; August 28, 2008
