CBS opening up Web video?

CBS figures if they can't get Web viewers to come to them, they'll go to the viewers.

The network is preparing a new strategy for online video that involves syndicating content across as many as 10 different Web sites ranging from Time Warner Inc.'s AOL to Joost, The Wall Street Journal reported.

That's a big shift from its earlier strategy of posting everything to its own Web site and hoping viewers would head there. CBS executives now say that that plan was "arrogant," with one telling the paper "We can't expect consumers to come to us."

The other major networks are sticking with their in-house plans for now, and bloggers were debating which strategy will ultimately prove successful.

Blog community response:

"CBS clearly understands that spreading your content out to where constantly fragmenting audiences are going is a key survival strategy for big media companies."
--ABC Digital Futures

"Importantly, they're also going through services that let us embed and distribute their stuff. That's the greatest win of all. Why not encourage your audience to recommend and distribute your good stuff. It's free marketing. It's the endorsement that matters most. It's only wise."
--Buzz Machine

"The media landscape continues to change, and the way people are getting their information evolves as well. I remain convinced that great content wins out -- the challenge is finding a sustainable business model."
--Glass House