Bud.tv may fade away by year end

Despite the hype, Anheuser-Busch’s Bud.tv continues to struggle and may not survive into 2008.

by Helen Leggatt

Bud.tv had hoped to attract 2 million visits in its first year. Since a high of 253,000 visitors in February this year, its first month, the numbers have been falling attracting just 152,000 in March, per comScore. April’s figure was too low for comScore to measure.

August Busch IV, AB’s CEO, told analysts this week that Bud.tv, with its budget of $30 million, “may fade away” later this year.

Brandweek reports Angela Calman, president of Calman Media, as saying, "The problem is you have some decent content but if it's just a hodgepodge—a shot of a beer bottle here, shows that appeal to this demographic there and let's throw in some celebrities—you have to remember this is not a passive medium. Within 20-30 seconds worth of video, if it hasn't grabbed you, people move onto the next video."

Other reasons for the impending demise of Bud.tv are the restrictive registration process and limited distribution network. Bud.tv content can’t be shared via iPod, embedded in social networking profiles or posted to Digg.

It’s anticipated that Bud.tv will be incorporated in to a broader online strategy and won’t completely disappear.