New website will feature TV commercials

Rich Fiscus
11 Aug 2007 7:29

NBC Universal has taken the offensive in battling viral video sites like YouTube.
Their new website, Didja, will feature a mix of TV commercials and content from their USA and Sci-Fi cable networks.
Bonnie Hammer, president of both USA and Sci-Fi, said the goal is to "become the go-to destination for on-demand advertising content." "Didja.com is the logical next step in the changing dynamic between consumers and advertisers," Hammer said. "There's no doubt that commercials are major drivers of pop culture -- all you have to do is check out traffic on any video-sharing site. We want to own that watercooler conversation."
It's not exactly surprising that a major corporation would come up with the idea of selling advertising as programming. What's more interesting is that companies like NBC Universal put so much focus on getting people to talk about them, and very little discussing what people are interested in.
Despite a huge amount of video that no one cares about, sites like YouTube ultimately succeed by having enough content people want to see. That's what makes them send links to their friends. The advantage those sites have is a variety of content providers uploading content.
Perhaps the NBC's real strategy is to try as many ventures as possible, like launching Didja while they're developing another site with News Corp., when both sites arguably compete with each other.
NBC Universal isn't the first company to recognize the profit potential from an ad-centric site. Warners-owned TBS has the comedy-focused Veryfunnyads.com, which is linked to the cabler's comedy-focused brand. And earlier this year, a group of investors launched adTV, which offers many of the features promised by Didja.
Source: Variety