CBS Interactive Launches Social Viewing Rooms

Social Viewing Rooms Allow TV fans to Watch Their Favorite CBS Shows and Interact with Friends Online Using Synchronized Video Viewing, Chat and Polls

CBS Interactive today announced its latest online video innovation, the Social Viewing Room, which launches with Intel as its premier sponsor. The Social Viewing Room lets TV fans watch the most popular CBS Network TV shows online at the same time as their friends, and interact as if they were all sitting together in the same room.

At launch, CBS will have Social Viewing Rooms available for Primetime, Daytime, and CBS Classics. While in a Social Viewing Room fans chat, make comments, and throw or animate customized virtual objects on the screen. Users can also more easily find, befriend, and have conversations with others who share their passion for CBS programming. Viewers will see a list of everyone else in the room, and can chat with any or all of them directly during the show, thus increasing viral aspects through chat and interaction.

The CBS.com Social Viewing Room forms a key part of CBS Interactive’s broader mission to engage TV fans online and add a social dimension to the online viewing experience. CBS will expand the Social Viewing Room to other CBS Interactive properties over time. For more information about CBS Social Viewing Rooms, visit: www.cbs.com/socialroom.

“The Web offers a unique opportunity to do more than just rebroadcast entertainment content,” said Anthony Soohoo, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Entertainment at CBS Interactive. “The CBS.com Social Viewing Room is a next-generation social media platform that lets users engage with each other and the content they are watching in a fun new way, while at the same time giving advertisers an opportunity to connect with this engaged audience.”

For promotional partners, the Social Viewing Rooms let technology leaders such as Intel¹ weave its brand into the center of the entertainment experience with a unique combination of user engagement and brand integration. As the exclusive launch sponsor, Intel will showcase the relevance of its latest innovative mobile product for notebooks: Intel Centrino 2 processor technology

“Intel is passionate about bringing traditional TV and online video to the Internet, so that people can experience their favorite shows anytime, anywhere with cutting-edge technology,” said Heather Dixon, consumer marketing director, Intel Americas. “CBS’s Social Viewing Room takes the experience to the next level by enabling viewers to interact with their friends online creating a very compelling new social media tool. Now, the PC can start to replicate the traditional living room experience but in a virtual space — enabling the PC viewer to banter, laugh and comment with the power of Intel microprocessors.”

About CBS Interactive
CBS Interactive, a division of CBS Corporation, is the best online content network for information and entertainment. Its portfolio of leading brands, which include CNET, CBS.com, CBSSports.com, GameSpot, TV.com, BNET, and Last.fm span popular categories like technology, entertainment, sports, news, and business. With more than 150 million people visiting its properties each month, CBS Interactive is a top 10 web property globally.

¹ Intel, and Centrino are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.