CBS Television Distribution surprised many in the industry today by launching a last-minute syndicated show titled Smash Cuts, a weekly hour featuring viral video clips.
The all-barter weekly hour has quickly cleared more than 90 percent of the country, including stations from the Tribune and CBS groups. In Chicago, the program will air locally over WGN-TV.
Usually, syndicated programs are brought out in the fall months and in January right before the NATPE convention. But with both The CW and My Network TV giving up a night of programming each this fall, it created an opportunity for syndicators to grab those time periods abandoned by the mini-nets.
Smash Cuts plans on featuring viral video clips culled from around the Internet, similar to G4's Web Soup.
Other efforts - such as CW's Online Nation and the just-canceled Beyond Twisted (which was tested on six Fox O&Os), were not successful.
Of course, there have been home-video programs more successful than those efforts. Mighty Oak's Whacked Out Sports currently is in its second year in syndication, while others included MCA's Roggin's Heroes and of course, America's Funniest Home Videos.
In fact, CBS Television Distribution's precessdor (Paramount Domestic Television) distributed video-clip shows Real TV (1996-2001) and its spin-off, Maximum Exposure. Both shows were successful financially for Paramount.
CBS Television Distribution is currently auditioning for four hosts to anchor the program.
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