AFI BLOG: Media and Technology

Big media in little places: CBS, DoubleClick, expand widget ad options - Vetnure Beat

Big media is getting into widget advertising, in order to reach people on sites across the web. One example: Media conglomerate CBS is launching a local widget ad network today, with the goal of drawing more traffic to its own web sites — and making money from partner sites in the process. Another example: DoubleClick, the advertising giant (that Google has just gotten final approval to purchase), has announced its own widget ad network today.

Widgets are small snippets of code that web publishers can embed on their sites, that feature live, interactive information from other sites. But many have wondered how widgets — and more complex versions, such as Facebook applications — can make money. The answer is emerging now, as companies like CBS and DoubleClick start running more ads within widgets — and make money for themselves, for their widget-technology startup partners, and for publishers.

CBS is offering a local widget ad network where a third-party site located in the same geographic area as a CBS television station can run a widget that features news clips from the station as well as CBS’s own ads. Local blogs and other social media sites are new competitors to local television. This is a way for CBS to make money and gain traffic through these sites at the same time, turning them into partners, not just competitors, with CBS at the center. CBS has been one of the big media companies to aggressively experiment with widgets and social media, such as its widget that shows sports scores, here.

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