CNBC retools Web site for video
On Monday, CNBC is expected to launch a revamped Web site that will offer three to eight hours of daily live broadcasts and more than 13,000 hours of video from the station's library.
Subscribers to CNBC Plus, a premium service that allows people to watch the entire CNBC broadcast over the Net, will cost $9.95 monthly.
People at work can follow the market by placing CNBC's new video player in the corner of their PC screen and watch while they complete tasks. Some of the CNBC's new tools include a personalized ticker that will allow a user to follow the prices of their stocks in real time. The ticker can be cut and pasted onto a computer screen just like the video player.
CNBC sees the Internet video revolution as an opportunity to deliver more of the cable channel's business news over the Web. Technological improvements in online video, including fatter bandwidth and better compression of digital data, have done away with the stalling and grainy image quality associated with Web video. Live streaming looks as good in some cases as over-the-air television.
This has opened the door to the Web for broadcasters. Last month, NBC began streaming episodes of the soap opera "Passions." CBS recently announced that the video clips the network offers on video-sharing site YouTube have helped boost viewership. ABC has offered televisions shows , such as "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" for a year.
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. He is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sandoCNET. 
