Bud.tv Stops Minors In Their Tracks

Not long after the Superbowl, Anheuser-Busch is set to launch a social networking site all of its own.

by Helen Leggatt

Bud.tv, as it is known, will be launched on or around 4 February, 2007. There’s a placeholder site up and running at present, and visitors over the age of 21 are encouraged to sign up for updates.

Bud.tv content will consist of seven channels providing 24/7 access to a variety of entertainment such as stand-up comedy, satire, independent movies and film production competitions.

Anheuser-Busch has reportedly hired Warner Brothers to create “Hardly News”, a game show, and have formed a partnership with social media site MingleNow to feature Bud.tv ads on their interactive website.

Gurbaksh Chahal, founder, chairman and CEO of MingleNow said "It's exciting to see a major corporation like Anheuser-Busch recognize the importance of social media and be able to engage so quickly with an innovative program that will add to users' enjoyment of the media."

To ensure the website stays within the law, Anheuser-Busch will implement an independent age-verification system developed by Washington D.C.-based Aristotle Inc.

Visitors to the site will be asked for personal information, including first and last name, their date of birth and zip code. Artistotle’s system then carries out a real time search of its public records database. If found, the visitor can proceed to register for the site. Bud.tv will be the first of the brewer’s websites to implement the system, but it is due to be rolled out to all relevant sites this year.

According to the Anheuser-Busch, "This initiative makes Anheuser-Busch the first alcohol beverage company to use an independent age-verification system for its Internet sites.”