CBS to launch originals

With a tanking economy, CBS exploring the possibilities of more Web originals to bring in extra revenue.

The network is looking at the brand integration?a formula that has proven to be successful on the Web. Nowadays many advertisers are more than willing to shell out and brand content on the Web. Case and point: NBC?s ?Gemini division??a successful web series that has tie-ins with Acura, Intel, Cisco, UPS and Microsoft.   

Apart from reeling in revenue from the show?s audience, CBS also hopes to score big on branded entertainment and product placement. ?Advertisers will definitely embrace broadcast networks? original programming for the Web,? said Scott Lackey, co-founder and strategic director of Jugular Advertising in New York. ?Right now, it?s all about overcoming all the various means of circumventing advertising, from mute buttons to TiVo.?

?The Web allows us to nimbly adjust our scripts based on what the audience is seeing, and it lets the sponsors adapt to the needs of the audience,? said Anthony Soohoo, senior VP and GM of CBS Interactive. ?Advertisers are always looking to extend their brands in new innovative ways, and Web originals let a brand be associated with a storyline and have some type of voice in the creative process.?