A new Internet network brewing

[Chicago Tribune] - When some 22 million people clicked on Anheuser-Busch Cos.' commercials in the days after Super Bowl XL last February, company executives took notice.

Video on the Web is for real, the beer executives concluded. And the company needed to be there in a big way.

On Wednesday, the nation's largest beer company, which also is one of television's biggest advertisers, is expected to announce the launch of its own Internet-based programming network called Bud.TV to launch Feb. 5, the day after the next Super Bowl.

Geared mainly to 21-to-27-year-olds, the online venture will offer roughly seven "channels" of original and exclusive content, ranging from sports to comedy to reality shows. The company even expects to re-invent the "Dating Game" on one of its channels.

Developed out of the company's marketing and media divisions, the decision to start its own programming arm is a result of research showing that 21-to-34-year-olds spend up to six hours a day on the Internet.

The creator of Budweiser, Bud Light and other products is the latest consumer products company to move significant advertising dollars from traditional TV and print outlets to the Web.

Such moves have been nerve-wracking for networks, magazines and newspapers, which have pushed to expand their own online offerings in an effort to recapture lost advertising revenue.

Though Anheuser-Busch said it is not giving up on traditional media, it acknowledged that it has to go where its consumers are going.

Tony Ponturo, vice president of global media and sports marketing, wouldn't say how much the company is spending on the venture. Beginning in 2007, however, the company will allocate about 10 percent, or roughly $60 million, of its $550 million annual advertising budget on online ventures, including Bud.TV.

Ponturo said the new venture will be funded out of its traditional media budget, including TV, where Anheuser-Busch spends the bulk of its ad dollars. It remains the biggest ad spender on the Super Bowl, which may be used to help promote its online channels.

It is rare for an advertiser to control programming. In the world of traditional media, Anheuser-Busch's advertising helps support the cost of delivering programming or content produced by others.

With its online venture, however, Anheuser-Busch will oversee the site and employ two full-time producers overseeing costs. DDB Chicago, its lead advertising agency, will help administer and manage the site.

"We have to deliver original and proprietary programming," said Jim Schumacker, Anheuser-Busch's vice president of creative development who was tapped to head the venture. Schumacker added that "no one knows our customers better than we do."

Schumacker said there are no plans, other than a channel allowing consumers to develop their own Bud commercials, to use it as a platform for Bud ads. However, the company will integrate products into the programming when it sees opportunities to do so.

Shows will range from one-to-five-minute comedy segments, called "Happy Hour," featuring former Saturday Night Live writer Matt Piedmont.

Anheuser-Busch will also build a show around Fox play-by-play announcer Joe Buck.

Also on tap are a reality channel, which will include the "Dating Game," a Hollywood Channel, including original films from Kevin Spacey's TriggerStreet.com project, and a sports channel that will include exclusive content from Major League Baseball, NASCAR and the National Hockey League, among others.