Winning on the Web

BY JANICE RHOSHALLE LITTLEJOHN

With dot-com entertainment companies dropping like flies, cable channel Web sites are springing up like weeds.

The National Cable and Telecommunications Association Hot Links page, at ncta.com, lists more than 200 sites, a good number of which are providing daily or weekly content updates.

With their connections to widely viewed channels, some are among the most popular destinations on the Web.

Obviously, networks create these sites to expand their brand recognition. But they go about it in different ways.

Some sell stuff. Game Show Network hawks its logo on everything from pens and yo-yos to tote bags and books to baseball caps and apparel.

Some go for the insider's appeal with behind-the-scenes series events: MTV, for instance, uses the site to let viewers spy on the goings-on in The Real World house. The Puppy Channel screens videos of the favorite doggy tricks from viewer pet owners, HBO's online contest for Sopranos lookalikes allows winning fans honorary membership into the hit mob family. And the stars of Showtime's original series regularly converse with fans on the site's celebrity chat room.

Then there's the Independent Film Channel, which goes beyond on-site pandemonium, offering employment opportunities for site visitors.

The extra effort is worth it. When networks create sites solely for program promotion, it usually results in what looks like an unimaginative Internet infomercial. But those net sites adventurous enough to experiment with Webcasts, digital downloads, games, message boards and resource links, can create a lifestyle experience. Here are some of the best, and most interactive, cable sites on the Web.

Ignoring the ?if it ain't broke don't fix it? adage, Comedy Central moved to make an already good online set up better. With its April revamp, visitors can expect ?to laugh the minute you get to the home page,? promises John Sanborn, chief creative officer and VP-new media. ?We're turning from being a receptive site to one that will reach out to people in a more aggressive manner.? The redesign features a Flash e-card engine, dedicated message boards, an increase in online chat with network celebrities and updated subsites for shows like South Park and Battle Bots. To celebrate online lollygaggers, the new ?TimeWasters? subsite will keep office workers distracted with more games, jokes of the day and character screen savers. In addition, fans can complain to each other about their lives on ?Rick's Sh*t List,? and submit jokes, animations, short films, stand up and sketch material, comic strips and cartoons ? and the best could end up on the network.

Like the channel itself, this site offers so much to see and do, from learning to building your own roller coaster or making the perfect storm to educational games and chats with experts who appear on the primetime lineup. Visitors with high-speed connections can browse through a rich media showcase of live program feeds and interactive videos. ?We can add a whole new dimension to the content for people who want to dig deeper,? says SVP-general manager Bill Allman. ?We're definitely trying to push the envelope a little bit.?

E! offers aggressive entertainment news, providing backstage peeks, gossip and exclusive reports into the worlds of movies, television, music and fashion. Entertainment enthusiasts can plug into interviews with their favorite celebs, film trailers, live events and clips from popular series such as E! News Daily. The rest of this one-stop entertainment trip includes celebrity chats, message boards, contests, games and a multimedia gallery for interactive programming applications. ?The day after the Oscars we had a record traffic day of 18.1 million page views, which, by all accounts, are very significant numbers,? says Lynn Heidi, SVP-business development and online.

Disney is to kids what peanut butter is to jelly ? they just go together, and this site is no exception. There are a lot of links to visit on this colorful, fast-paced site, including its offshoot zoogdisney.com, dedicated to Disney's older viewers in their ?tween? years, which has become a stand-alone destination. ?Most kids bookmark it, and don't have to start at Disney.com,? says Eleo Hensleigh, EVP-marketing for ABC Cable Networks. The site offers kids a chance to tune into Radio Disney and exclusives on the popular Lizzie McGuire and So Weird series, plus live video feeds of network concerts and specials.

?If VH1 was only on the web, what would it be?? asks the site's SVP-GM, Fred Graver. ?We'd like to think the site encompasses VH1's promises to follow the stories behind the music, provide fans with their favorite music ? and the best new music ? and connect people through their love of music.? A home page that is refreshingly uncluttered, with eye-catching channels, the site plugs visitors into the total music experience with videos, chats, polls, events, news and fan-inspired celebrity interviews. The most recent incarnation, ?Hear Music First,? allowed record buyers to purchase the new Stevie Nicks CD two weeks before it hits the stores, with the added bonus of being able to download the entire record, with liner notes, the minute they placed the order. We're allowing out audience to get music on their computer ? and it's legal,? Graver says.

?We can add a whole new dimension to the content for people who want to dig deeper,? says Discovery SVP-general manager Bill Allman. ?We're definitely trying to push the envelope a little bit.?

This is a virtual online cartoon museum. Here, visitors can view streaming videos, get bios and interact with dozens of Hanna-Barbera's classic cartoon characters and new favorites like Johnny Bravo. Cartoon Orbit is the electronic trading card outpost, which allows fans to connect and swap cards or share stories about their favorite toons. Of course, there are also puzzles, trivia and games, which are faster to play and more fun with a broadband connection. And don't miss the latest Batman interactive adventure ? it's an in-house favorite, says SVP-GM Jim Samples.

Newly acquired links to thesmokinggun.com and crimelibrary.com have given a content boost to Courttv.com's information content on crime and justice. At the Crime Library, visitors get in touch with legal minds, such as Joyce Oates and Phillip Margolin, who've created award-winning, fictional short stories ? but none are stranger than the real deal you get with Court TV drama.

Expanding the ?No Limits? brand into the infiniteness of cyberspace, sho.com takes visitors beyond the linear television world, allowing them to parallel the activities and interests of their favorite series characters in their own lives. And if it's stars they want, fans can get 'em via weekly hourlong online chats. ?Unlike Jay Leno, you can hear from the actors on the shows you're interested in and offer up your own questions,? says Gene Folk, SVP of Showtime's Digital Meida Group. ?And the actors really get into it.?

This site is pretty self-explanatory. It's all about food ? where to buy it, how to prepare it and how long it'll take you to do it. In Forums & Chats, visitors can share their culinary secrets with others around the globe and get tips from experts from the Food Network Kitchen. Wine for Food is the ultimate wine guide on selecting vintage, matching wine with meals, tasting techniques and ratings. Foodtv.com plans more interactive components this fall, with a new series in which a spa chef will go one-on-one with viewers to plan nutritional diets for people with ailments like diabetes.

BET uses its Web site to provide general interest, lifestyle and entertainment information to the African-American public in ways that far surpasses its music-infomercial-laden channel. Visitors to the site will find detailed information on topical news events, money matters, technology, food, health, careers, and even advice for those looking for love and finding it in the wrong places on Loveline. ?We wanted to build the definitive online location for the African-American population,? says BET.com COO Scott Mills. The site also has interactive components for BET.com Countdown and 106th & Park

Somewhat of an anomaly in cable-to-Web convergence, oxygen.com was the cart that ran nearly two years before the network horse got out of the starting gate, and the site continues to be an online home for women like none other with its fresh, innovative activities. With AOL Time Warner breathing new life and 10 million additional new subscribers into the network, Oxygen may finally have a significant cable presence for its inventive programming.