The Other Tube

CBS says its new broadband channel, innertube, will be accessible from its mothership Web site.

That may well be a corporate strategy, though it may also be that it couldn't get the name "innertube.com."

Countrywide Tire & Rubber has that address.

According to its site, the company "is an international wholesale distributor of tires, inner tubes, and other related products. We distribute lawn and garden tires, boat trailer tires, agricultural tires, various truck tire sizes and other speciality tires. We also feature the most complete inventory of inner tubes in the nation. All of our products come with a free replacement guarantee.

By contrast, CBS' innertube, which the company says is lower case and italicized (shades of i, the former Pax TV) "will launch with a line-up of original series produced expressly for the Internet, as well as new shows that are companions to popular CBS brands. The genres for the original Internet programs will range from reality to musical performance, from entertainment magazine style to talk format, and from sketch comedy to animation."

What, no free replacement guarantee?

By John Eggerton