CBS to Air Prime Time Shows Online

The executives from CBS announced yesterday that seven of their most watched prime time shows will be aired free of charge on Innertube, the morning after they are aired on the network.

'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation', 'CSI: Miami', 'CSI: NY', 'Jericho', 'NCIS', 'Numbers' and 'Survivor' are the shows chosen to make their premiere for the online audience. But while the three 'CSI' series will be available only for four weeks, the remaining four will remain on the Internet for the rest of the season that kicks off this autumn.

'Our belief all along is that all this is additive and doesn't cannibalize the network television. We know there's an audience out there that will watch it and not be turned away by the advertising.', the president of CBS Digital Media said. Furthermore, the network is working on an option that will eventually help the viewers choose what advertisements they want to watch.

BCS is not the first television network to offer prime time shows on the Internet, the pioneer in this field being Disney's ABC who aired episodes of 'Lost', 'Desperate Housewives' and 'Alias' in May and June. The series are said to have been a massive success for this segment of the audience, being shown more than 16 million times.