CBS upgrades TV.com to stream shows

NEW YORK, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. television network CBS says it will expand its online offerings of current and former shows on a newly designed Web site.

Meant to compete with Internet sites such as Hulu and Fancast, which have brought television shows from other networks into free, Web-streaming formats, CBS is starting a redesigned TV.com as the place to watch its old and new shows, The New York Times reported Monday.

CBS was expected to announce distribution deals with PBS, Sony, MGM and Endemol to expand its online library, the newspaper said. Recent episodes of CBS shows can currently be seen at the network's own Web site, CBS.com, but by adding other programming to TV.com, the site won't be "tied to the success of our shows," Anthony Soohoo, head of the entertainment and lifestyle categories for CBS Interactive, told the Times.

CBS obtained the TV.com Web domain with its purchase of CNet for $1.8 billion last year.

With its licensing deals, TV.com will be able to stream CBS classics such "Bewitched" and "The Addams Family," as well as programs from CBS-owned premium cable channel Showtime, such as "Dexter" and "Californication," the Times said.