(1 October 2007 4:30 pm)

MUMBAI: US media conglomerate CBS has launched EyeLab. This is an editing studio dedicated to creating CBS-based promotional content to be distributed across CBS Interactive
platforms.

The new short-form video content will be produced by fans, next-generation online content editors, and producers of CBS programming and will be tied to content from CBS News, Sports, Entertainment, Late Night and Daytime, as well as CSTV and Showtime. EyeLab clips will be distributed across the CBS Audience Network, including the newly redesigned CBS.com and CBS Mobile.

EyeLab builds on research demonstrating that
short-form clips are among the most viewed videos on the Web. This next-generation studio will be dedicated to creating thousands of original clips that will enable users to easily engage with and sample video tied to CBS’s content.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TV franchise executive producer and creator Anthony E. Zuiker says, "Recognising that short-form content is what our viewers want online, we’re committed to bringing CBS fans short, easy-to-digest clips—which they can take and mash up, rework, re-edit and, no doubt, inspire us with their creativity.

"Using the Web as a direct engagement platform with those who care the most about the show is a perfect way to bring the TV experience online and in turn, to learn from fans."

CBS marketing president George Schweitzer says, "EyeLab will allow our marketing and production team to tap into a vast new pool of creative resources while attracting new eyeballs to our TV content in a format that works on Interactive platforms.

"Online video is not just about TV shows as we know them and EyeLab content is not for TV. We can harness the passion and creativity of our shows' biggest fans, and also learn a lot about their interests and talents."

CBS Interactive executive VP, chief marketing officer Patrick Keane says, "We are well aware that the Internet is the world's best laboratory and we want to encourage our loyal and passionate fans to lend their creative ideas and talents in a way that makes CBS content their own.

"By inviting fans to participate, we expect to grow our already vast content slate tremendously. CBS was ahead in massive, open distribution and this represents the next step—catering content better for our users based on what we're learning about them. The creation of EyeLab also underscores another key difference in the Interactive platforms, which is the ability to handle and programme for inverse scarcity— EyeLab can’t feed the Audience Network, CBS.com or CBS Mobile too much content."