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BET. com builds content from sibling"s cable programming
TESTING THE PROMISES of media synergy, BET.com is staking the future of its new Internet Web site on its ability to translate content and stream video from the flagship of its growing media empire, cable TV channel BET.
Beyond teasing Web visitors with snippets of its TV fare targeting African-Americans, BET.com's site features a substantial portion of concerts, stand-up comedy, interviews and other entertainment programming from Black Entertainment Networks' cable TV site, encoding it for PC users.
"We are always thinking multimedia, what can we do to enhance our programming and content," says Scott Mills, chief operating of ficer of BET.com, a division of BET Holdings. The site was relaunched in February with backing from Microsoft Corp., News Corp., Liberty Media Group and USA Networks.
While the jury is still out on whether a Web site can build a strategy relying heavily on the transference of cable TV content to the Web, digital industry executives believe the formula can work.
RICH MEDIA DRAW
"The infrastructure is rapidly being deployed to bring greater connectivity to people's homes, and that, in turn, makes them increasingly able to seek out rich-- media content," says Ken Papagan,...