NBC is set to begin shooting a pilot for an online late-night talk show, one of nine web shows it has planned for 2009, despite the network’s layoffs and economic difficulties. NBC already has four web shows in development for this year, with advertisers already lined up. Five more shows will be pitched throughout the month to potential advertisers. These five shows include the late-night talk show which targets female viewers.
CBS is also getting ready to launch some original web content in 2009. The network is starting off with two web shows, but it sounds like plans are in the works for more. One show already picked up is a companion to “Harper’s Island.”
Web shows are generally easier, cheaper and faster to produce than traditional broadcast content, which makes them look good at the pilot’s pitch. Programmers and marketers can also make adjustments to the content more quickly than with traditional shows, reducing the hassle of changing or fixing content.
Web shows also feature more brand integration than traditional broadcast does, when looking at the two markets as a whole. Brand integration has proven quite profitable for web content and is virtually immune to fast-forwarding. As DVRs become more standard, advertisers will be more willing to invest in web video content, especially when it comes from producers like CBS and NBC.