Anheuser-Busch plans to launch its own direct-to-consumer network. Details of the strategy are still under wraps, but the new channel, code-named "The Bud Screen," will debut sometime during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XL, offering viewers the opportunity to download advertising, programming and branded entertainment content directly to their computers, iPods and other devices. The initiative is the most aggressive example yet in a growing trend of marketers utilizing broadband video downloading to bypass traditional TV outlets to deliver their content directly to consumers. Unlike previous direct-to-consumer video plays, the Anheuser-Busch deal is not a one-time, or limited test of broadband video distribution, but is the launch of a new, ongoing distribution channel that eventually is expected to be branded "Bud TV."
As part of the launch, Anheuser-Busch will encourage Super Bowl viewers - the largest conventional TV audience of any program of the year - to sign up for a "season's pass" to the new channel, which will periodically download content undetected on their hard drives until they are ready to use it.
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