CBS opens up more of its classic TV library

Like Nintendo doling out classic games on the Wii Virtual Console, CBS Home Entertainment has opened up its vault and pulled out some classic shows to be viewed freely on CBS.com and on its partnering CBS Audience Network sites.

Starting today, clips and full episodes of The Love Boat, Beverly Hills 90210, Twin Peaks, Family Ties, and Perry Mason will be available on over 300 participating CBS Audience Network sites. Partners include the recently-acquired CNET and its related subsidiaries, AOL, Microsoft, Comcast, Joost, Sling Media, Veoh, and Bebo.

This looks to be an ongoing process, with CBS noting that more content from "one of the largest television programming libraries in the entertainment business" will be made available in the coming weeks.

Where other networks have made their content available through strategic partnerships such as those with Hulu and SyncTV, CBS has instead opted to spread itself as widely as possible, making its content available wherever it can fit.