Winning on the Web

Cable World, June 4, 2001 by Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn

When cable channels aim higher than mere promotion, Internet surfers can find megabytes of entertainment and information. A CableWorld review.

With dot-com entertainment companies dropping like flies, cable channel Web sites are springing up like weeds.

The National Cable and Telecommunications Association Hot Links page, at ncta.com, lists more than 200 sites, a good number of which are providing daily or weekly content updates.

With their connections to widely viewed channels, some are among the most popular destinations on the Web.

Obviously, networks create these sites to expand their brand recognition. But they go about it in different ways.

Some sell stuff. Game Show Network hawks its logo oil everything from pens and yo-yos to tote bags and books to baseball caps and apparel.

Some go for the insider's appeal with behind-the-scenes series events: MTV, for instance, uses the site to let viewers spy on the goings-on in The Real World house. The Puppy Channel screens videos of the favorite doggy tricks from viewer pet owners, HBO's online contest for Sopranos lookalikes allows winning fans honorary membership into the hit mob family. And the stars of Showtime's original series regularly converse with fans on the site's celebrity chat room.

Then there's the Independent Film Channel, which goes beyond on-site pandemonium, offering employment opportunities for site visitors.

The extra effort is worth it. When networks create sites solely for program promotion, it usually results in what looks like an unimaginative Internet infomercial. But those net sites adventurous enough to experiment with Webcasts, digital downloads, games, message boards and resource links, can create a lifestyle experience. Here are some of the best, and most interactive, cable sites on the Web.

COMEDY CENTRAL (COMEDYCENTRAL.COM)

Ignoring the `if it ain't broke don't fix it' adage, Comedy Central moved to make an already good online set up better. With its April revamp, visitors can expect "to laugh the minute you get to the home page," promises John Sanborn, chief creative officer and VP-new media. "We're turning from being a receptive site to one that will reach out to people in a more aggressive manner." The redesign features a Flash e-card engine, dedicated message boards, an increase in online chat with network celebrities and updated subsites for shows like South Park and Battle Bots. To celebrate online lollygaggers, the new "TimeWasters" subsite will keep office workers distracted with more games, jokes of the day and character screen savers. In addition, fans can complain to each other about their lives on "Rick's Sh*t List," and submit jokes, animations, short films, stand up and sketch material, comic strips and cartoons--and the best could end up on the network.

DISCOVERY CHANNEL (DISCOVERY.COM)

Like the channel itself, this site offers so much to see and do, from learning to building your own roller coaster or making the perfect storm to educational games and chats with experts who appear on the primetime lineup. Visitors with high-speed connections can browse through a rich media showcase of live program feeds and interactive videos. "We can add a whole new dimension to the content for people who want to dig deeper," says SVP-general manager Bill Allman. "We're definitely trying to push the envelope a little bit."

E! ENTERTAINMENT (EONLINE.COM)

E! offers aggressive entertainment news, providing backstage peeks, gossip and exclusive reports into the worlds of movies, television, music and fashion. Entertainment enthusiasts can plug into interviews with their favorite celebs, film trailers, live events and clips from popular series such as E! News Daily. The rest of this one-stop entertainment trip includes celebrity chats, message boards, contests, games and a multimedia gallery for interactive programming applications. "The day after the Oscars we had a record traffic day of 18.1 million page views, which, by all accounts, are very significant numbers," says Lynn Heidi, SVP-business development and online.

DISNEY CHANNEL (DISNEYCHANNEL.COM)/ZOOG DISNEY (ZOOGDISNEY.COM)

Disney is to kids what peanut butter is to Jelly--they just go together, and this site is no exception. There are a lot of links to visit on this colorful, fast-paced site, including its offshoot zoogdisney.com, dedicated to Disney's older viewers in their "tween" years, which has become a stand-alone destination. "Most kids bookmark it, and don't have to start at Disney. com," says Eleo Hensleigh, EVP-marketing for ABC Cable Networks. The site offers kids a chance to tune into Radio Disney and exclusives on the popular Lizzie McGuire and So Weird series, plus live video feeds of network concerts and specials.

VH1 (VH1.COM)

"If VH1 was only on the web, what would it be?" asks the site's SVP-GM, Fred Graver. "We'd like to think the site encompasses VH1's promises to follow the stories behind the music, provide fans with their favorite music--and the best new music--and connect people through their love of music." A home page that is refreshingly uncluttered, with eye-catching channels, the site plugs visitors into the total music experience with videos, chats, polls, events, news and tan-inspired celebrity interviews. The most recent incarnation, "Hear Music First," allowed record buyers to purchase the new Stevie Nicks CD two weeks before it hits the stores, with the added bonus of being able to download the entire record, with liner notes, the minute they placed the order. We're allowing out audience to get music on their computer--and it's legal," Graver says.