Failed WB Program Finds New Life On Yahoo

from New York Times: On broadcast television, the live-concert show “Pepsi Smash” drew only a modest audience, but Yahoo is betting that putting the program online will be a boon to its digital music offerings.
Yahoo plans to introduce a section of its Web site housing a redesigned version of “Smash,” which as a program on the WB network attracted an average of just 1.3 million viewers in eight episodes last summer. Yahoo and Pepsi are reviving the show as a collection of video segments on the Web, with plans to serve up digital streams of live performances from Coldplay, Kanye West and Gwen Stefani, along with new clips designed for short-attention-span online viewing.
Yahoo will supervise production of the segments and promote the “Smash” series throughout its Web site, hoping that it will help Yahoo maintain an edge in the crowded field of digital music services, which includes rivals like America Online, Microsoft and Viacom’s MTV.
The move comes as Yahoo is trying to draw customers to its new subscription-based music service and Pepsi is increasing its footprint online. David A. Burwick, senior vice president and the chief marketing officer for Pepsi-Cola North America, said, “That’s where young consumers spend their time.”