Hollywood studio Warner Bros has quietly rolled out a trial version of an ambitious on-demand video website over the weekend, offering archives of shows including Friends, Smallville and Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well as web-exclusive content and social networking features.
Available initially only as a private trial within the US, TheWB.com website said it was targeting the 18-34 audience with "iconic, dramatic video content when, where and how" they want it.
The site offers free, full-length episodes of around half the back catalogues of major Warner Bros TV shows and promises unseen footage as well as new, original programming exclusively for the web.
Warner Bros has introduced some social networking features with the site so users can chat about particular shows, set up viewing parties and play themed games.
Another tool allows users to create their own edits using Warner Bros footage, as well as search programmes for keywords.
The site will be supported by advertising and is being promoted through a Facebook group.
A Warner Bros spokeswoman said there were no plans to extend the serviced to the UK, where the focus is on branded WB broadband video channels on services including BT Vision, Virgin Media and Tiscali.
Warner Bros launched The WB as a TV network in the US in 1995. It later joined forces with CBS to combine WB with the UPN network to become The CW, a channel that would focus on new programmes.
TheWB.com is focused on archive shows and web-only programming, described by Warner Bros Television Group president Bruce Rosenblum as "not about supporting TV; this is about creating a separate business, and we regard online video as a separate form of storytelling".
In March, Warner Bros joined Hulu, the joint venture web TV project between News Corp and NBC Universal which focuses on full-length, new programming.
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