By now we all understand that the web is not TV, but that doesn't
stop us from wanting to watch TV on the web. Given the success of CBS's
new innertube video service, it's interesting to see how differently
they treat CBS News when it comes to online viewing.
In order to view each individual news clip, ranging in length from 1
to 4 minutes, one must sit through a non-bypassable standard TV-length
30-second video ad. When watching the same clip twice, the ad plays
again. In order to watch the first four clips on the site today, a for
a total length of 8 minutes, one would have to sit through 2 minutes of
commercials, or 25% of the total viewing time.
The video viewer is already sponsored by Merck, and contains a
banner ad which promotes the same product shown in the pre-roll video
ad. I wonder if all this is really necessary, or if it's just a way to
sell more advertising at the expense of the viewing experience.

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