CBS Launches Local Widget Ad Network

by Jarrett Martineau | March 17, 2008 at 05:54 pm | 187 views | add comment

The new news business model for 2008:

1. Hyperlocal content
2. Content widgets on social media sites
3. Ad rev share with 3rd party partners

Only thing is, it's an unproven model. Will it work?

Television stations owned by CBS Corp. are launching an online advertising initiative with local bloggers and social media sites, the company announced Monday.

The ad network will involve CBS-owned TV stations generating online modules called “widgets” which can be easily added to Web sites and then updated throughout the day.

The widgets will contain local news as well as advertising, which the CBS stations will sell. The online partners will receive a share of the revenue, but specific financial details weren't disclosed.

Newspaper publishers and other media outlets are also experimenting with widgets and similar applications in an effort to spread their reach online.

Gannett Co.'s USA Today, The New York Times Co. and The Washington Post Co. have all launched widgets that can be added to Web pages or personal profiles on social networking sites like Facebook.

CBS said the ad network has already been rolled out in several cities, including Boston, Dallas and San Francisco, with others to follow.