CTD Renaming ‘Insider,’ Going Multiplatform

CBS Television Distribution and Yahoo Inc. today announced a deal that combines the broadcasting power of The Insider with the online reach of Yahoo!. As part of the deal, CTD’s syndicated entertainment newsmagazine The Insider will be renamed omg! Insider in January 2013. The idea, CTD says is to create a multiplatform entertainment news series.  

Kevin Frazier and Brooke Anderson will continue to host the TV show, as well as draw on Yahoo talent such as Kristen Aldridge (omg! Now) and Michael Yo (The Yo Show on Yahoo). In addition, Yahoo’s omg! entertainment news site, visited by nearly 30 million users each month, will be the exclusive home to video provided by the TV show.

CTD says omg! Insider will be a “true Web and on-air collaboration that aims to reinvent how consumers access entertainment news across screens.” Online, Yahoo’s omg! will provide continually updated coverage, including video clips, celebrity interviews, photo galleries, and a number of interactive social features. On air each evening, the TV show will offer a mix of informal in-studio conversations with celebrities and personality-driven discussions of news and trends.

The new venture, CTD said, will also provide “a substantial promotional platform for TV station partners “ — the website will post breaking news throughout the day and continually promote the television broadcast later that night.

“We’re excited to give our affiliate stations the opportunity to be associated with one of the largest entertainment news sites in the business,” said Joe DiSalvo, CTD president of sales. “We’re adding value to The Insider by tapping into an online audience in the millions and taking advantage of Yahoo’s omg! brand and its loyal following. Our stations will also get an unparalleled promotional opportunity online. This is the perfect example of what the convergence of broadcast and digital is all about.”